For the Fire will Birth the Shadow
by Valior
Summary: Six months after Hinata's capture by the Akatsuki, all has been silent in the Hidden Leaf. But all the same, darkness has crept back into the fray, and it is a darkness that falls over two men, the bearers of the Will of Fire and the Curse of Hatred, who are destined to clash. A new night falls on the shinobi world, and only time will tell what will die, and what will be birthed.
1. In Inceptum Finis Est

**A/N**: Greetings again, Naruto archive. It's Valior, and I'm bringing another fanfic to the table. _No More Pain_, which was supposed to be my next project, unfortunately had to be cancelled since my computer was stolen after I wrote several chapters, and I had lost my original file along with my inspiration. In place, I offer you _Twilight of the Uchiha_, a story that picks up where the previous one, _The Red Clouds of Love,_ left off. In this universe, I've eliminated Tobi from the canon and made the original Akatsuki the villains, so I apologize to any fans of his, however it's my belief that the series fell off the rails after Akatsuki became a sideline, and now I'll see what I can do with them as the main antagonists again.

Also, to all those who are interested, I've posted a new story in the Star Wars archive called _Beyond the Limits of Darkness and Light_. If you enjoy the series, I advise you to check it out. Read on, and I hope you all enjoy.

**Warning**: This story (particularly this chapter) contains intense sex scenes. If you're easily offended, I'd advise you to prepare yourself or simply eyeball where the scene stops, as I won't put in barriers to stop the story. If not, carry on.

**Chapter One  
**_In Inceptum Finis Est_**  
**

It was happening again, wasn't it? He had seen it before; the handle that couldn't be turned, the lock that couldn't be picked, the hinges that couldn't be broken on the door that couldn't be opened. Almost every night now, he saw it. It plagued him, haunted him with its presence. What did it want from him, and why him? He had a feeling those two questions had the same answer.

He pushed the door with both hands, to no avail. He wasn't even sure why he tried to budge the colossal thing; it hadn't moved since the night he'd first seen it. It had never, ever given even but an inch to his efforts. He felt like a kid again; trying to lift a table or a heavy stone outside at recess, but not even feeling it move in the slightest. With a grunt, he gave up, slamming his open palm on the door with frustration.

And then, things changed. The symbols, the five symbols that circled the lock in the center of the door, lit up. Five kanji were within; the five elements. Fire. Wind. Lightning. Earth. Water. The five chakra natures, and the five great Shinobi nations they were named after. They glowed like spheres of power, and then from each one, a coloured line emerged, heading towards the center. And as one, they all converged on the central aperture and slipped inside.

A crack. A creak. A click. The lock slowly turned, and opened.

But the door didn't move. The lock did. The entire mechanism that encompassed the kanji and the keyhole proper turned, and kept turning. Soon, turning became spinning. The lock whirled and the colours blended into a wheel of multicoloured light, until a hiss emerged, and suddenly, the spinning halted. No slowing down, it just stopped. The lock leaned forward, slowly, and then fell forward, leaving an open circle in the door, large enough to climb through.

He stood there, in shock. This had never happened before; he had pounded and kicked the door with no success, but never had it shown any semblance of opening. But there was only one way to find out what had happened. Slowly, very slowly, he walked forward and looked through the hole.

Darkness was all he could see. Impenetrable, solid darkness that nothing shone through. A raven could fly across his field of vision and it would be impossible to detect within the shroud of blackness. He was confused; why had the door opened if not for someone unlocking it? He hadn't done anything that he hadn't-

_*SCREEEEEENNNN*_

The sound split his ears and he cried out in anguish. The volume of it was terrible, like a raptor bird had just let out a scream right next to his ear, but it kept on ringing longer than it should; a nigh-unbearable screech of pain ringing through his skull. But slowly, it lessened, enough for him to look through the porthole again.

In front of him, sitting in the center of the dark around it, was a perfect sphere of crimson, with a single black dot in the center of it. And around it, three tomoe slowly circled, their gaze fixed on him like a hungry beast. And then came the voice, the voice that grabbed him, pulled him in in combination with the cold stare of the eye, and struck fear throughout his entire form…

"**I SEE YOU, NARUTO**"

* * *

A shout erupted from Naruto's throat as his form shot out of bed. His lungs hurt from breathing and gasping as his heartbeat slowly began to calm, and could almost feel his pupils dilate from the horror they'd just seen.

Naruto looked around: it was still nighttime, and he was still in his bed. Still at home in the Leaf. Though it didn't really matter where it was, because the dream kept finding him. Six weeks now, it had gone on. At first, it was just the door, but tonight was the first time he'd seen inside it. What had happened to open the door this time? Was it something that he'd done, or was it something else? Was it-

A stirring by his side made him jump, and his head spun to face it. A soft hand touched his shoulder, and white, pupil-less eyes looked back in his own sea blue ones.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Hinata asked, her voice laden with concern.

His love lay beside him, as naked as he, with her alabaster skin covered by the white sheets and both touched by the moonlight that entered through the window. Naruto simply looked at Hinata; her beauty was truly awe-inspiring, and even as he admired her, a weak smile slowly returned to his face and his heart slowed.

"I'm… I'm alright now, Hinata" he lied quietly, taking the hand on his shoulder and clutching it.

She gave him a look of sadness. "If you can't be honest with me, Naruto, then who else?"

Naruto's eyes turned downward; she knew him far too well. "It was the door again"

Hinata's arms encircled him. "We talked about this. It's nothing to be worried about; just a bad patch right now, so-"

"No, Hinata" he said, urgency present in his tone. "It's different this time. The door _opened. _I saw the Sharingan inside and… a voice."

She was alert immediately. "The Sharingan… could Sasuke…"

Naruto shook his head, staring at his lap. "I don't know. Maybe. Who else could there be?" Hinata slid her arms around his bare chest, pressing her warm body against his back.

"You don't have to think about this right now, Naruto… just come back to sleep and we can talk in the morning" she spoke smoothly, and her presence and touch calmed him. Naruto closed his eyes as he lay back on the pillow, Hinata's lavender hair spilling over his chest and tickling him.

He stroked her arm slowly as he felt her form move up his own and felt her lips press against his cheek softly. She kept up the action, letting Naruto turn his head and meet her kisses with his own. The two lay there in his bed, no words between them, just an uninterrupted love under laying their action.

Naruto took the initiative; his brain was still active from the dream and he couldn't feel sleep grasp him. He needed her; from comfort to body, he needed Hinata now. A slight loosening of her muscles as his arm touched her tailbone told him all he needed to know, and Naruto turned himself to face the woman he loved, the two of them still locked together in a kiss.

Naruto's other hand touched her cheek and his lips turned to her chin, while Hinata tried to get Naruto's mouth back before she let out a long sigh. Naruto's fingers traced up her inner lips and Hinata felt a shock run up her spine, letting Naruto latch onto her neck with his mouth, kissing and biting and nibbling the soft skin there. Hinata kept moving; she had to keep this feeling and it would die away if she didn't keep herself warm. She squirmed as much as she could without getting away, and Naruto's fingers and lips kept pushing her further; making her hotter.

Naruto's hand clasped Hinata's hot slit, his thumb on her clit as one finger dipped into the butter smooth folds, and she let out a loud, sudden moan of pleasure that died back into her slowly higher-pitch sighs. One thing he'd noticed; no matter when he wanted her, no matter what the situation was (at least so far), Hinata was as ready for it as he was. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. And he absolutely _adored_ the sounds she made when he played with her; it was like someone had found the chords to his eardrums whenever she moaned and sighed and purred.

"Oh god…" Hinata spoke first with a broken, shaky tone; Naruto _always_ made sure she spoke first. He moved his mouth up right by her ear and let her hear him breath as he pushed a second finger into her pussy. Hinata shook and then reached out, digging her fingers into his back as her breathing got heavy.

"Yes, oh fuck yes!" she pushed her hips into Naruto's hand, allowing him to slide behind her so that now, Hinata felt his body pressing against her back as they spooned. She felt his length pushing between her legs while Naruto's hands made her lose her grip on up and down, and of course she heard his breathing in her ear, until he began to speak.

"Does Hina like that?" he asked. His voice always dropped several octaves whenever they played like this, and whenever Hinata submitted herself to him. It made her so hot that her knees would shake. "My Hina likes it when I play with her cute little pussy, mmm?"

Naruto speaking was punctuated when his free, right hand slid from underneath her to grab her right nipple and pinched it. Hard. Hinata writhed as the world sparked and gleamed.

"OH!" her own hands covered Naruto's own and pushed his further into her body. "God yes… Naruto… fucking make me cum all over you! I love you playing with me, I love it so fucking much!" she was getting louder now, but her tone was no more stable. Naruto kissed and licked the side of her neck again.

"Yes Hina… I want you to say what you love me doing to your perfect little fucking body" he grunted into her ear, curling his left fingers up and pushing your g-spot.

Hinata squeezed her legs together and made a sound in between a whimper and a laugh; she was really enjoying this now. "I love when you finger my pussy, Naruto! I love when you play with my little pussy and make me squirm for you!" Hinata's hands that enveloped his own clutched his tighter and her exotic, white eyes stared aimlessly.

Naruto growled and felt his eyes flash: it was happening again. He felt his body grow hotter, and Naruto's tongue touched his teeth to see that his canines had sharpened. And when he spoke, Hinata heard it too. The change in tone, the injection of hunger into his voice. He was no longer a master to her, but a predator. And he had exactly what he wanted.

"What do you want, my little pet?"

"I want you Naruto!" she squealed again, pushing into him.

"What, whore?" he growled, clenching her pussy harder.

"Please! I want you Naruto! I want..." she trailed off.

"How, my delicious slut?!"

"I WANT YOU IN MY FUCKING CUNT! FUCK ME, NARUTO!"

He was ready, and pushed into her hot cunt with one thrust. Both shuddered at his action, but Hinata pushed back into him, trying to override his power. He started sliding in and out a second later, using the hand he was playing with her pussy with to push her left leg up and let him fuck her deeper. Hinata didn't want to move away from him, and only forced herself to push her body back into his. She wanted to be close to him; feel him fucking her.

Hinata let out a shriek; fortunately not loud enough to be heard. But even if it had, Naruto was beyond caring. His red eyes, now marked with a slit instead of a circle for an iris, were locked onto Hinata's body while his hips nearly moved of their own volition. His pushes turned into thrusts, and Hinata raised her leg on her own.

"Deeper, Naruto!" she cried out, trying to find something to do with her hands, until she settled for grabbing and tugging on her nipples. "Oh god… fuck me fucking deeper! Harder! I want to feel that cock fuck me!"

Naruto hissed, making Hinata shudder in fear of his power, and propped her leg up again as he slammed his cock into her dripping cunt. Hinata gasped and her eyes went wide before they closed, opened again, and repeated a sequence of hard blinking. It was so, in fact too, good. She wanted to say more; beg him to fuck her like a slut and a whore, _his_ slut and whore, but it all ended when Naruto used his left hand to rub her clit like a madman.

Hinata screamed, yanking on her nipples as she felt her pussy clench and squeeze Naruto's cock, milking it for its load, while she orgasmed all over him. The world flashed, spun and flipped all at once, and Hinata could only focus on grabbing Naruto's hand that was playing with her clit to not make everything too ecstatic to bear.

Naruto purred in victory as he felt Hinata's orgasm, and sped up his thrusts. He felt her hand grab his, and the two clasped tightly as Naruto shot his load inside her, her walls grabbing his cock pushing him over the edge. He panted and husked into her ear like the animal that was partly controlling his actions, and pushed his cock all the way into her as the last few spurts from his cock shot into his lover's tight pussy.

Hinata felt her loose hair touch her face, and felt its heaviness as it was dripping with sweat. She found it so erotic and smiled as she felt Naruto shift and push her onto her back, so that he looked down at her. Hinata's mouth was ajar while Naruto's eyes lost their crimson tone to become that familiar, sapphire blue again, though the slitted iris remained. She managed a weak giggle; the Fox always wanted more. Come to think of it, all three of them did.

Naruto slowly lowered his hand to cup her pussy again (she shivered at the feeling) and then, with a motion, he scooped up the juice she had squirted on him and brought the hand up to his mouth. Hinata shook at the erotic sight; he licked her juice off his hand and smacked his lips before flashing her a grin. No words, just a grin that reeked of pleasure at the filthy act.

Hinata matched it. She moved her shaking hand down to her slit and dipped two fingers inside, wincing at the feeling and letting out a sharp exhale, and twisted the digits around. A second later, they came out, Naruto's essence covering them, and Hinata slid past her lips, making no small show of the fact that her tongue circled and sucked off her love's cum.

Naruto only exhaled before opening his mouth and pressing it against hers. Hinata grabbed his hair and pushed him into her before their tongues swirled around. Each tasted the other; Hinata's had a slight tang while Naruto's was heavier and muskier, but blended… both felt their spines tingle as they lay there, tasting themselves and the other.

Naruto wondered if they should clean the other up (without cloths or water, of course) but exhaustion was finally settling in, and instead, lay back down on the mattress. Hinata slid over him and felt her head rise and fall with his breathing. Peace.

Naruto stroked her hair. "I love you, Hina"

He felt her sigh as his chest rose. "I love you too, Naruto" her voice faded off, and Naruto closed his eyes. He focused, and soon, the darkness changed.

Naruto's 'eyes' opened. He stood in a room he was all too familiar with; leaking pipes ran along the ceiling and walls, both of which were made of rusted, creaking steel. An odour of stale mist and heat permeated the air, and, of course, water partially flooded the room.

He already knew where to go. Naruto walked down the hallway, entering through the first door on his left to find himself in a huge room, whose only occupant was housed behind a pair of colossal, metal bars that stretched all the way to the top of the room. And upon the lock, there rested a single, paper tag marked with the kanji for 'Seal'.

Huge red eyes, with irises as long as Naruto was tall, opened and stared down at him. An aura of all the negative emotion in the world, from hatred to fear, settled in, and Naruto couldn't stop the shiver that ran up his spine. A maw, filled with razor sharp canines that gleamed white, opened, and a voice rang out.

"**I am impressed**"

Naruto chuckled. "You know it's me who gets Hinata hot, not you"

It wasn't hard to imagine the Nine-Tails shrugging in his mind. "**Perhaps. But **_**I **_**am the one who makes her scream**"

Naruto waved off the counter jab, and slid his hands into his pockets. "**I confess, youngling: it has been far too long since I enjoyed the pleasured, rather than terrified, screams of your women.**".

"Since when have you had sex with many women?" Naruto asked, trying to ignore the rather crude reminiscing of the Nine-Tails. As far as he'd known, the Fox had been imprisoned within a jinchuriki for a great portion of its lifetime.

"**There were days when I was free, young one**" the Nine-Tails explained. "**Before Madara's control over me. I will save my stories for another day, however when I was free, I spent much of my time as one of your kind**"

"Why?"

The Fox 'shrugged' again. "**There is little sense in moving in my true form. I only draw attention, and even in the infancy of your civilization, there were enough humans, and enough ninja, that walking around in my true form would bring me little benefit**"

"How does that relate to you being experienced in sex?" Naruto frowned, not catching the link.

The Nine-Tails grinned a grin that would make children run. "**As long as one is human, why not take advantage of the fruits that come with it?**".

"Ahhhh! Enough!" He cried out, holding his ears. "The last thing I need to hear about is _your_ sex life".

Again came the chilling laugh. "**Amusing, considering I know all about yours**".

Naruto made the decision to terminate the the discussion there. "Look, I came here because I needed to ask you about the dream".

The Nine-Tails nodded, it's smile vanishing. "**I saw. At this point, there is little doubt that these dreams are mere coincidence. Someone, likely an Uchiha, is trying to tell you something**".

"Now the question is what does Sasuke want?" Naruto asked. "Last we'd heard, he killed Orochimaru, but he's disappeared since then".

"**I would think that a more pertinent question would be how he is in your dreams, Naruto**" the Nine-Tails said, now lying down on its massive front paws. "**As far as we know, the young Uchiha has little use of genjutsu available. And there are no ninjutsu that I am aware of that would affect a target's dreams**".

"What are you saying?" he asked.

"**Several things**" The Fox answered; Naruto had never pegged it to be a thinking, critical being, but apparently (as it claimed) "when one is locked away for years, there tends to be a lot of quiet time to think". "**First, that your Uchiha comrade is attempting to create a new form of ninjutsu. Unlikely; such a task can only be performed by older, more experienced shinobi. Second, that there already exists a ninjutsu that I am not aware of that already performs this action. Unlikely; I have lived long enough to have seen such a technique if indeed it existed. And third…**" The Fox frowned, turning its head slightly.

"The third?" Naruto asked again; he couldn't see any more possibilities.

"**The third is…**" the Fox paused to contemplate its words. "**That your comrade **_**has**_** learned genjutsu, and has somehow placed one upon you without your knowledge**".

"But that doesn't make any sense! I haven't seen Sasuke for years, and he didn't know anything about genjutsu before he left the village".

"**There are other methods of placing genjutsu on one besides looking into the Sharingan, youngling. In any case, I will need time to think on this**" The Nine-Tails purred and turned its head slightly, dismissing the topic. "**In the meantime, I would advise you to keep your young lover out of this. The more she knows, the more obstacles we face in solving this.**".

Naruto rubbed his eyes in exasperation. "I can't just keep Hinata out of the loop. She's as big of a part of my life as you are now".

A frown ruffled the Nine-Tail's massive brow. "**She may be your mate, youngling, but she is not your parent. And you are a shinobi, not a child. Your problems are yours, and ours, to solve, and no-one else's**".

Emotions conflicted within Naruto. The Fox was only half-right; he loved Hinata and didn't want to keep her out of this, but it was enough to make him think. He turned to leave. "We'll see. Thanks for your advice".

The Fox nodded once before upturning its head a little. "**Oh, and young one. Should you and the girl require any more… amusement, in your intimacy sessions, speak to me when you have time to train"**.

Naruto turned back slightly, his mouth upturned in a cheeky smile. "It was bad enough when I agreed to let you have a little bit of the action during sex. What makes you think I'll let you get any more of your chakra in?".

"**Last I saw, Hinata did not object**".

Naruto turned away again, the smile still on his face. "I'll see you again".

The chakra beast lowered its head and closed its eyes as the world deteriorated around them. Everything dissolved into darkness before Naruto opened his eyes again, and found himself staring at his ceiling, Hinata's arm draped over him. Exhaustion settled in soon after, and the moonlight dissipated as clouds covered up the sky.

Naruto could only close his eyes and let the world fade away again.


	2. God is in the Rain

**Chapter Two**  
_God is in the Rain_

_Far away, long ago, __In a land of no father, __A hidden village lay, __A village hidden by water._

_In our village concealed, __In his grip we resided, __Beneath Hanzo's tyranny, __Only fear was provided._

_Until her coming so graceful, __Until his arrival so strong, __The People stood lonely, __So lonely, so long._

_But then the day came, __When Hanzo's cruel life, __His penance was birthed, __And died all his strife._

_Blessed be to his being, __His wisdom and might, __The one who unites us, __Who ended the night._

_And for all of eternity, __He watches over the Rain, __His herald, Lady Angel, __And our god, Lord Pain._

It was a children's rhyme that was told in the Village Hidden in the Rain now. One that parents told their kids to help them go to sleep and one that might be sung at the temples in the village. Konan liked it; it was a reminder of all that she and him had accomplished here. All that they had built after Master Jiraiya left. On a more pragmatic note; it was good cover. Nobody would poke their noses where it didn't belong if they believed their leader was a god.

Konan was garbed in her Akatsuki wear as she hummed the tune under her breath, perched on one of the tower's ledges. The usual haze of dark clouds and water vapour hung over the village like a sinister, eternal puppet master, and a slight drizzle fell from the master's claws, brushing Konan's face. All was quiet. It often was in the Rain; even the people who had lived here for decades stayed inside on these days. The weather was not steady enough to be calm, and not volatile enough to be a storm. She had once heard it described by one of the villagers as "As if the sky is always sad. Not truly crying, but weeping for something lost". She could admit; it was appropriate.

As if listening to her, the winds picked up, tossing about her damp, blue hair aside. Six-point-one seconds later, the rain started falling heavier, and closed her eyes. A storm was a welcome sight after the previous weather; as if the sky had made up its divisive mind about its emotion and had decided to let it rain again. A brief smile touched Konan's lips before a crunching, sliding sound came from behind her.

She turned. Before her, a massive, green maw slid from outside the steel pipeline that made up the ledge she was standing on. From the base, there was a hint of a black-red cloak, but the part that held her attention was the rudimentary mouth opening, and within, she beheld a human head; half black, half white.

"He's returned" Zetsu said in a soft, almost childish voice.

Konan didn't need to speak. She only nodded once before hopping off the ledge to land on another soaked surface, several stories below, and this one more properly shaped as a balcony rather than a simple pipe. Konan stepped into the interior of the building and stood there as Zetsu emerged from the wooden floors, now standing at his full height and his body fully shown in its cloaked garb.

It was only half a minute later that a man came through the only door in the room. He was dressed as they were; the red-black cloak of the Akatsuki, and on his right thumb he bore a ring, as opposed to the one on her left middle finger. Konan sighed inwardly as she'd remembered who he'd been in life, though the multiple, black piercings that decorated his nose and ears and, more noticeably, the ripple pattern in his eyes, marked him as only another vessel for the true being behind the mask. Though, for those who did not know him, every ounce of his being screamed command and control; he possessed the aura of one who knew all and saw all, and god knows, Konan thought, it was true.

"I apologize for the hour" Pain said in a deathly smooth, elegant tone before turning to the more odd of the two others in the room. "Zetsu. Status report".

"All of the others are on independent missions or standing by for instructions, leader" Zetsu replied, his head lowered. "We have also located the Eight-Tails, and as far as we know, the Nine-Tails remains in the Leaf".

Pain frowned. "Hardly progress, but all the same, useful. Where is the Eight-Tails?".

"The Hidden Cloud" Zetsu's second half responded in its bass, threatening tone. "We have watched him for three days now; he is the younger brother of the Raikage: the one they call Killer B".

"I've heard tell of that one, even in the Rain" Konan said solemnly. "He's a firebrand, not unlike the Raikage".

Zetsu nodded. "We have observed his fighting style from his training. Very fast, very destructive. But hardly a mind for strategy".

Pain nodded, pacing towards the window and staring at the outside world. "We will deal with the Eight-Tails when we must. A more pressing matter awaits us at the time".

"Naruto Uzumaki" Zetsu said, reading Pain's mind. "We've not been able to get a close look at his activities for months now; ever since the mission with the Hyuga failed".

"That mission was not a complete failure, Zetsu" Pain replied, turning his head. "It may appear so at face value, however we learned a lesson from that event: that young Naruto cares about his friends more than we anticipated".

Pain continued, looking back at the rain outside. "So much so that he was willing to embark on a mission that would entail fighting our organization, composed of high-level shinobi of unknown strength, travelling to lands that have been deserted for decades, with his only comrades being a handful of Chunin. If nothing else, the boy certainly possesses courage."

"What can we see from this? That while the young Hyuga was a decent pawn to use, her true utility lay in her ability to bring our quarry to us. A fault that we would be unwise to leave unexploited. All that is required is to find a bait equally or even more valuable".

Konan saw where this was going. "Sasuke Uchiha".

"That's possible" Zetsu spoke up, his white half this time. "We have been tracking him for some time now, along with his small band of allies. His movements suggest that he is searching for Itachi, which makes them predictable".

"Capturing the one who managed to slay a being as strong as Orochimaru will require no small amount of caution" Pain didn't move, but Konan could see that he was pondering. "Zetsu. Who is closest to Sasuke's current position?".

He answered without pause. "Hidan and Kakuzu, leader".

"Hardly the best choice to deal with one who wields the Sharingan" Konan observed, her brow slightly ruffling.

"Have faith, Konan" Pain responded, his neutral tone not wavering even slightly. "Kakuzu has dealt with genjutsu before, and Hidan's battle style will assist in Sasuke's capture even more so".

"As you say, leader" Konan bowed her head. Mostly for Zetsu than anything else.

Pain straightened his head, and turned back to the plant-like man. "Relay the order. Hidan and Kakuzu are to locate and capture Sasuke Uchiha" Pain paused for a moment to narrow his eyes ever-so-slightly. "**Alive**. He is no use to us dead".

"And his young teammates?"

"I foresee no threat from them. Whatever happens to them is irrelevant, either way".

"Yes, leader" Zetsu's halves said in sync. Without another word, the half-man sunk into the floor as his organic head closed its two halves and disappeared along with the rest of his body, leaving only the two in the room.

Pain let out a breath; the only sign of relaxation he would show. Konan did the same, and her expression softened. Her partners near catatonic attitude towards anyone or anything was exhausting, and so was hers. It demanded respect, true, but eventually, it became tiring.

"Nagato…" Konan started, walking over to the him with a look of concern and sadness.

"I am fine, Konan" he responded smoothly. "Sleep is the only remedy I require".

"That took more out of you than you think" Konan said, letting worry slip into her voice. His meditation that allowed him to keep his sanity after using the Six Paths for so long was taking its toll. "Release the path, and get some rest for yourself".

Pain looked like he was about to protest, but Konan interrupted him. "You made a promise to me, Nagato" she said in a soft tone. His eyes turned sad.

He only let out another breath and pulled himself to his feet. "I did. And I will do my best to keep my vow, Konan". The rinnegan's softness evaporated then, Nagato leaving those eyes and being replaced by Pain once again. "But you know that the plan must come first, and then my promise to you. None can have peace until the world does".

Konan's professionalism immediately came rushing back and flooded her spirit. "Of course. The plan comes first".

Pain began to leave the room before stopping. He could not see Konan, and therefore, she could not see his mighty eyes close, in a state of minor, momentary tranquility. "Thank you Konan" was all he said before leaving through the door he entered through.

Konan's neutral face fell as the door closed. She turned to look out the window at the village and saw that the sky had reverted to its state of drizzling, reflecting her mood. Pain… Nagato… it was hard to tell whether one bled into the other now. She felt it sometimes too; when one wears a mask for so long, be it of perpetual anger, silence or sadness, the person underneath that mask slips away. Slowly but surely. And it was happening to Nagato. Her Nagato.

Konan only stared at the rain. For a long, long time.

**A/N**: Just a quick note for you guys. I've received some replies that Naruto and Hinata's scene in the previous chapter was rather risqué, and I'd just like to say that I'll remember that advice when I write the next sex scene between them or any other pair. I admit I may have pushed the envelope a little far for the first chapter, though I admit that I had my reasons. I will remember this in the future. I've also retitled this story from '_Twilight of the Uchiha_' to '_For the Fire will Birth the Shadow_'. Less snappy, I know, but the previous title I felt gave too much mention to Sasuke, as Naruto still is the main character and I thought a more appropriate title was necessary.

Also, though this chapter is much shorter than the last, I've written much further ahead then this. I only broke the two segments up because I wanted to 1) get this note out to you guys and 2) make the title of this chapter more appropriate to the content. Also, if you spot the reference there, feel free to shout it out: I'm proud of you.

Expect an update soon.


	3. The Strings are Grabbed

**Chapter Three  
**_The Strings are Grabbed_

**A/N:** This update came much faster than even I thought, though I am uploading literally five minutes after I typed the last word. Like I said in my update for the _Red Clouds of Love_, I have a complete synopsis set and I'm getting to work on the next chapter right away. Hope you all enjoy.

"_Focus…_" Hinata repeated in her mind. Just focus on the chakra. See it from all the angles. Where was it, where is it, where will it be? Concentrate of its patterns and predictabilities all at the same time. There was the flow; she saw it now. The chakra swirled around uncontrollably, but Hinata saw where it was moving. And then… strike!

Hinata's fingers shot out and hovered above the hand in front of her and she felt a slight pulse hit her two fingers. She got it! Again! Again! Hinata kept hitting the chakra, seeing it… she was going to pull this off! And then… a stream headed off and Hinata tried to strike it back, but missed. Her hands kept moving even though her brain said it was pointless, and the slight sound of humming stopped and the electricity in the air dissipated. Damn it.

Hinata frowned and let out a breath of frustration. "How do you do this so easily?" she asked.

Naruto smiled his cute smile. "Practice, practice, practice" he touched her shoulder, planting a kiss on her forehead. "You've already done better than I did when I first learned. And you have the best control over your chakra of any of us. Even Kakashi-sensei said so".

Hinata smiled at him and looked down at her feet; an old indicator of her shyness that had become so rare since her incident with the Akatsuki. "Still doesn't feel like it" she mumbled, and Naruto chuckled, giving her a hug around her shoulders.

"Alright, then…" Naruto thought of what to do, and Hinata looked up at him just in time to see the spark in his eyes flash. "Defend yourself, Hinata!" he yelled in a bass, and readied his hands.

Hinata immediately pushed off the ground with a chakra-powered leap, turning into a triple backflip that sent her flying ten meters into the air. On the ground, she spotted two Naruto clones standing alongside the original, both holding kunai. Hinata almost breathed easier until she saw one of those kunai flying right at her, a piece of paper tied with wire to its handle. She couldn't dodge in midair, leaving her with only one option, a costly one. Her hands started moving just in time.

"Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!" she yelled, pushing out her chakra. From behind her, three, translucent sharks composed of hardened water rushed towards the kunai just as the paper bomb detonated. The sharks exploded along with the bomb, protecting Hinata from the blast of flame as she came back down to earth. If there was one thing she'd picked up from Akatsuki, it was their jutsu came in handy when there were no options left.

The Hyuga lady landed on her feet to see the two clones rushing at her. A simple matter. Hinata's byakugan activated as she moved towards the assailants, her fingers taking up their customary stance. Before the two copies knew what had happened, Hinata had ducked their blows, spinning on her heel and striking the back of their necks with needle-point chakra control. Had they been the real thing, Naruto's spinal column would have been fractured.

The two disappeared with a poof, leaving Hinata alone on the open training field. Her instincts kicked in, and Hinata lept into the tree line. She found a tall oak with good leaf cover, but little enough that she could see the ground, and perched herself on the firm branches, almost slipping when she landed. Using that water style attack had taken a lot of chakra: there was no water near her to use, so she'd had to convert the air around her into water. No small feat. At this rate, Naruto would win, and Hinata was determined not to let that happen.

Hinata's eyes became hard as her byakugan focused and she used it to scan for chakra signatures. Within a second, she found Naruto: he was exactly 233 meters from her current position, and Hinata watched as his signature multiplied and split into duplicates. He was sending shadow clones after her.

Hinata focused her chakra again, and weaved the hand signs. She ended on Hitsuji, her hand touching the central pillar of the tree. "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" she whispered, and the fog began to roll in.

Naruto stopped as he watched the haze arise from the woods and flow towards him. Both pride and determination touched him as he readied a kunai and got in touch with his clones: they were all still intact.

Hinata had truly become adept with her chakra nature over the last few months, and while an examination by Shizune revealed that Hinata could only use Itachi's fire style because he had placed a unique chakra seal on her that permitted her to use his jutsu, Hinata soon after discovered she _did_ have a natural affinity for water style. Naruto offered to train her and both of them soon came to the observation that Naruto was a far better training partner then Kiba or Shino. And, judging by the mist that now covered the entire section of the forest Naruto stood in, she was making excellent use of the jutsu that Kisame had taught her.

Naruto felt his eye twitch slightly: a clone had been destroyed. Its memories touched his an instant later: the clone had seen or heard nothing. Hinata was assassinating her way through his clones. Three seconds later, another clone popped out of existence; she was getting closer. Naruto grinned, and summoned a clone to his side, putting out his hand.

Hinata saw another chakra signature appear, right next to a second one that had existed before. Hinata was puzzled for a moment: there was no way that Naruto would be dumb enough to give away his location that easily. Was it a trap? There'd be no point; the Byakugan would spot it before Naruto could even begin to spring it. Then again, if she didn't strike now, he'd disappear. Hinata narrowed her eyes as a smile touched her mouth, and she sped through the trees.

She watched as Naruto made a second shadow clone beside him, and put out his hand. His chakra began to concentrate, and soon formed into a perfect sphere. Hinata's mouth turned upward even further; a Rasengan wouldn't help him here. All she'd need to do was avoid a head-on attack. Her hands formed into a ram seal and a figure identical to her poofed into existence. Hinata dropped down, and sprinted forward again.

Her clone came out first, its hands formed into the gentle fist, and Naruto leaped. His rasengan struck the false Hinata dead on, knocking her back, when the real one emerged from the tree line right below the airborne Naruto. She leaped up, readying to strike his chakra points…

A sharp pain struck Hinata's midsection and she felt her momentum vanish in an instant. Gravity grabbed hold of her and Hinata fell back to the ground, unable to turn fast enough to land on her hands and crashing into the earth flat on her back. She tried to move, but her muscles groaned and creaked. It was a second later that she realized what caught her by looking at her stomach to see what was restraining her: a wire. That clever, clever bastard.

"Dead" Naruto said from a location she couldn't see, far too much smug laced in his usually playful voice. In a flash of black and orange, Naruto was on top of her, the blade of a kunai knife touching her throat.

"You knew I'd make a clone…" Hinata's mind slowly pieced it together; he'd played her like a cheap flute.

"You'd never be able to see the wires if you were so focused on hitting a moving target" Naruto adjusted the blade and looked at her with the fire of victory. "And even though your eyes can see through the mist, it still cuts your vision. The only way you'd see my trap was if you'd already known it was there".

Hinata dropped her head on the ground, a giggle slipping out of her throat. "Why can't I ever win against you?" she asked with a smile.

"You beat me last time!" Naruto protested, lowering the kunai and an expression remarkably similar to a child arguing with its parent crossed his face. Hinata almost laughed at his cuteness.

"I did not beat you last time" Hinata furrowed her brow. "You let me win".

"I did not!" He was lying. And they both knew it.

Hinata dropped the issue, instead rolling her eyes and letting a telling smile touch her lips. "Just get down here before I actually beat you".

Naruto grinned and tossed the kunai aside, crashing his lips on Hinata's. The minor discomfort of the wires was pushed out of the way when Naruto slipped his arms around her back and uprooted the knives that held them in place, letting her move freely. Naruto, however, pinned her down instead. Hinata shivered; he'd really gotten more forceful with her since they first got together, and the two of them had been engaging in their own kind of training, so to speak. It was one of the things that truly made her legs shake.

The two let out sighs and laughs into the others mouths as they rolled over and under one another in the grass, still damp from Hinata's jutsu. Being seen wasn't a concern; as far as the two cared, they were having fun, and that was all that mattered. Hinata jumped the next step and slid her tongue into his mouth, Naruto responding in kind by pushing back, both with his tongue and hips, forcing her back on the defensive. He pressed the assault, and moved the hand he had touching her lower back to the side of her waist, and slid just into the rim of her pants.

Hinata couldn't help it; she had to break contact with his lips to let out a sigh, giving Naruto the opportunity he wanted. He lunged at her neck and latched on, kissing and licking and biting her there. She melted. Her neck was her sweet spot; both had known that for some time now. All it took was a little attention, even minor attention, there to get her sweating and hot. Hinata couldn't breath hard enough to keep herself under control, and stopped trying to get at him, instead giving Naruto full access to her body.

He rolled them over, so that Hinata was back on the bottom, and Naruto pressed down on her, keeping her in place with sheer weight alone. Hinata panted even harder; she felt him digging into her, and felt his tool pushing between her legs. They'd never had sex on the training ground before, and it might have made her skittish had it not been for the remarkable lack of caring that she had about being spotted. Also, the fact that the remains of her Hidden Mist jutsu still lingered gave her extra reassurance, and Hinata turned back to Naruto just as his hand, now within her pants, cupped her pussy. She cried out and giggled with joy as Naruto kissed her again. This was so erotic, yet so fun, at the same time. Perfect sex.

Naruto descended on her, pulling open her jacket with his free hand to show the mesh top that covered her breasts. He leaned in and kissed her nipples through the netting, making her giggle with pleasure again, which he rectified by putting more force into the hand that was inside her underwear, turning that giggle into a sigh. He liked it better when she was totally submissive, he smiled to himself. Naruto reached up to tear off the-

_*__**SCREEEEEENNNN**__*_

Naruto screamed in agony; his head nearly split open from the horrible sound. His eyes squeezed shut from the pain and he felt his body thrash. Everything vanished; the grass and trees around him, Hinata's beautiful form below him, and the sounds of the forest in his ears. All of it, gone after his eyes closed. His sapphire blue orbs snapped open, needing to see around him, and it was just what he dreaded.

He lay in the room. Behind him, the door lay open, its lock open and leaving a gaping, smoking hole where a perfect sphere was last time. He lay on his back, hands propping him up, staring at what was before him, and just like last time, the massive, red eye of the Sharingan floated in the darkness in front of him.

It looked at him, and the voice rang out.

"**NARUTO**" It boomed from everywhere at once like a deity. "**THE HATRED RETURNS. THE NIGHT FALLS. THE END BECKONS. TIME IS GROWING THIN**".

He opened his mouth to speak, to say _something_ and ask what it meant, but he was cut off. The… sharingan… spoke too fast for him to interrupt. Its voice roared in a bass, yet it felt urgent. Almost worried. **"YOUR DESTINY AWAITS. THERE IS NO ESCAPE. ALL WILL DIE IF YOU DO NOT ACT. YOU MUST FIND HIM, NARUTO. FIND HIS TRUTH!**".

Everything spun out. Darkness and crimson blended into a chaos and hell that made Naruto's vision cease to be coherent. Sounds, smells, feelings… none of it mattered. There was only spinning, and dizziness, and…

"Naruto!"

He grabbed onto her voice, and pulled himself out. Naruto felt a cool, peaceful sensation flow over him, and he latched onto it, guiding himself through the abyss. It was still hard; like getting pulled by a whale through the sea while holding onto a few strings, but it worked. Light came over him, and Naruto felt the world return.

His eyes snapped open, and Naruto shot up, grabbing Hinata in a strong embrace. He felt her arms lock around his back and heard her breathing hard. The two stayed there, slowly rocking together in a vice-like hug, unwilling to move. It was several minutes before they released one another, Naruto opting to lay his head on Hinata's chest for a moment, breathing hard.

"Naruto, are you hurt?" she was still confused; to her, it had seemed that he was having a seizure.

He took several more breaths before speaking. The pain was still there; as if his whole body was surrounded by unbearably cold ice. "It was the eye again… the Sharingan" Naruto held his body close to hers. Her warmth relieved the chills.

Hinata's eyes widened, and she grasped Naruto's head harder. "It's never happened during the day before, only ever in my dreams" he continued. "And it was stronger this time. Much stronger".

Hinata rocked the paralyzed form holding onto her slowly, as if she was his mother. "It's alright. Just take a minute and we'll get you to Lady Tsunade-"

"No!" Naruto exclaimed. "I can't let her know this is happening to me. This is my problem, Hinata".

She was about to grumble something about men when he continued. "Besides. Medical ninjutsu isn't going to help this. I need someone who can help me make sense of these dreams. Make sense of whatever the Sharingan told me".

That piqued her interest, and Hinata turned her head to look at him. "Did you say 'told you'? The Sharingan spoke?".

Naruto nodded, letting Hinata go and kneeling on the grass by himself. "It said something about finding… someone, before it was too late. It was trying to warn me about something Hinata. I'm sure of it".

"We _have_ to take this to the Hokage Naruto" she placed a hand on his forehead; he was sweating bullets. "You've obviously got a genjutsu on you that's causing you to have these visions, and it could be Sasuke trying to get control of your head".

Naruto stood up, his legs still shaking but managing to keep himself stable nonetheless. "No. I need someone who can help me with these dreams, Hinata. I need to see Ino".

That was possible. Ino or any of her clan really knew more about the mind then Tsunade or any of the medical ninja. Plus Ino had the bonus of having medical training alongside it. Hinata stood up alongside him, grabbing his waist from behind. She conceded, letting her breath tickle his back. "This is the last straw Naruto. If this happens again, I'm knocking you out and dragging you into the hospital.".

Naruto smiled, the fear finally fading away with her touch, and he turned to hug her. "Thank you Hinata" he let his love fall through his tone, and kissed her hair. The two stood there for a couple more minutes as Naruto's heartbeat became steady again.

Hinata smiled with her eyes closed. "You know you let me win".

Naruto sighed with a smile. Women.

* * *

Ugh, the heat. It was so goddamn irritating. How it made everybody hot and bothered and brought out grumpiness and you couldn't mitigate the heat no matter how hard you tried… how exhausting. At least in winter, you could layer clothes until you were warm. But in the heat, taking off your clothes didn't do much. It was such a complete and utter pain, Suigetsu thought.

He sat on a rock, drinking from his water bottle with a bored expression. It was a mystery to him too, why anyone would choose a hideout located in such a hot place. He liked the cold and the dark; it spelled security and solitude, which was key for a hideout. Why you'd hide one in the Land of Wind, the sunniest and most open of the five great nations, was a question he couldn't answer. He could think of a dozen better places right off the top of his head. But it really didn't matter.

The very light sound of leather sandals on stone (despite the wailing sound of the wind on the rocks) made him turn his head. Jugo rounded the corner, his black cloak flapping around and wincing a little from the sand touching his face.

"No sign of any patrols" he stood at the base of the boulder that his companion sat on. "Just like we thought".

"And no sign of any change from the hideout" Suigetsu spoke with a long exhale that was far too exaggerated. "This is such a pain… you'd think that he'd at least choose a place without so much sun".

Jugo simply looked at the village the rock foundation bordered. It was standard construction for the land; built out of hardened mud and stone to withstand the high winds and designed to be well-aired so as to not trap heat. There were eleven buildings in total, with one at the center being clearly designed for the village leader. It didn't take much imagination to figure out where the one person that was living here would be staying.

"Any luck?" Jugo asked, turning his head to see the source of the noise that tipped him off. Karin and Sasuke leaped down from the rocks above the two, landing next to him.

"The hideout is concealed by a weather jutsu" Karin explained. "Chakra-infused sand on the wind surrounds it; there's no way to look within it with any form of ninjutsu or dojutsu. And using my sensor abilities would risk giving away our presence".

"We've only got our eyeballs then" Suigetsu reasoned, putting away his bottle after it was drained and hopping off the boulder.

The group turned to look at the village. "Suigetsu" Sasuke spoke in his ever-neutral tone. "Go in first. Conceal yourself and scope out the outer buildings".

When the water-user nodded, he formed a hand sign, leaping away into the air and out of sight. "Jugo. Ready your jutsu and cover my back" Sasuke turned to the other male in the group before giving the woman beside him a cursory glance. "Karin, I want you to hold back. Avoid scanning the village unless absolutely necessary; if he is here, I want to tip him off only when we're right on top of him".

Karin nodded, her cheeks flushing, and Sasuke turned back to the village. Suigetsu must have been settled by now. "Let's go" Sasuke leaped into the air, flanked by his teammates.

Sasuke landed beside the back entrance to the central building. He reached out and touched the others with his mind, feeling their chakras. Suigetsu was in the building… twelve meters to his upper left. Jugo was exactly sixteen-point-two meters behind him on the roof; Sasuke could feel his chakra roaring and ready to be used at a moment's notice. And Karin was on the wall of the hideout, some twenty-eight meters back, with her chakra calm. Everything was set.

Sasuke rounded the corner, kicking open the door and powered up his chakra: lightning and fire. The room was empty except for empty bookshelves that lined the walls and a handful of wooden chairs and tables. He narrowed his eyes, but leaped up the open staircase to the second floor, entering into the main room, which strongly resembled a Kage's office (apparently the former owner had high ambitions for the Kazekage's seat). But it was empty again. Sasuke's frown grew deeper; this was not what was supposed to happen.

He lowered his finger and ran it along the wood floor. A thick layer of dust coated it, and Sasuke clenched his fist. Nobody had been here for months, maybe years. He stormed to the window, shattering the glass with a single Chidori Spear that he activated without a second thought. He stepped out, looking around the village.

"Suigetsu!" he said, struggling to keep his tone neutral. He saw him appear at the exit to one of the other buildings, nodding in response.

"Anything?" Sasuke called, his frown evident even from Suigetsu's position. The ex-Mist ninja raised his shoulders in a shrug. Nothing.

Footsteps arrived shortly before Jugo entering the room. "Nothing outside, Sasuke. Karin did a low-level scan and she's not picking up any chakra either".

His face looked out the window, preventing Jugo from seeing it. A look of sad concern touched his face, and Jugo stepped towards him right before Sasuke's chakra surged. Smashing through the ceiling, Jugo leaped out just in time.

The building exploded. Though sound and undisturbed a moment before, the wooden, poorly constructed hub of the small hideout turned into a massive fireball as Sasuke unleashed his fury. Jugo, though he was some ten meters up, felt the heat and the shockwave of the intense inferno even in the air, and he felt his feet sear from the amazing power of the blast. He turned his leap into a dive, and Jugo landed on one of the nearby buildings a second later, staring at the blaze.

Suigetsu winced as he appeared beside Jugo and looking at the outcome of Sasuke's temper. "Gods… he could have at least given us a heads up" he complained, reaching for his bottle to quell the uncomfortable heat.

Sasuke walked out of the inferno a moment later, untouched or even so much as singed from what he'd just done. Nobody could see his eyes from that angle, but if they had, they'd see more fire in them then the one he'd just walked out of.

Three months. Three agonizingly slow months tracking him to this godforsaken hideout, and for what? To find nothing but an abandoned mud village, some dusty books and a stale laugh on the wind. Sasuke wanted to scream, burn down the rest of the village and cast his fury upon the entire shinobi world. He kept escaping, every single time. HOW?! Sasuke's mind roared and bellowing its loathing, its frustration and its hatred all at once, culminating in a firestorm of rage in his head. But his face remained that cold, unmoving mask as it always did, save for his eyes.

Karin landed beside Jugo, her cheeks flushed, though from what, Jugo was unsure whether it was the heat or just Sasuke. All three watched as Sasuke walked towards the gate of the hideout, leaving only footprints behind him.

"I'll break down some wood for a fire" Jugo stepped away from the others, heading towards one of the other buildings. Suigetsu headed off as well after grumbling something about food, while Karin just stood on the roof of the wooden hut, looking at Sasuke, now sitting on a boulder outside the gates, looking out over the desert.

* * *

He didn't come back inside the village walls until night had fallen over the desert. The sands and rocks that surrounded the hideout held the heat well, but at least without a beating sun over them, it did go down some, and that was something.

The central building's fire had burned out hours ago and was now nothing more than charred beams and smoldering ash. With the fire being more of an explosion then a slowly-burning blaze, the issue of smoke giving away their position was less of a problem, though Suigetsu still took the liberty of dousing some burning flames just in case. By the time Sasuke re-entered through the gates, the other three sat around a small bonfire. Nobody was talking.

Sasuke sat down on the far side of the fire, his eyes still reflecting the fire from before. Jugo could tell that the remnants of his anger still remained, and didn't speak. Even Karin kept silent, though her expression showed that she was repressing that desire.

Suigetsu's impatience got the better of him first. "So, what's next?" he took a sip of water out of the corner of his mouth. "Where's the next place we look?".

"Nowhere" Sasuke said, his face and eyes unmoving; only looking into the fire. "I'm done playing his game. We're changing our strategy".

"Alright" Suigetsu narrowed his eyes, skeptical. "As long as you're playing as captain of the Shogi team, what's our next move".

A cold stare shot down Suigetsu's joke before they turned back to the fire. "Itachi is a member of Akatsuki, and he's committed to their goals and ideals. We use that, and we force him to play on our terms".

"From what Orochimaru said, Akatsuki's goal is to capture the nine tailed beasts. However many they have right now, they can't have them all yet or else we would know. Their plan, whatever it is, can't be complete if they're missing a tailed beast".

Suigetsu smiled a shark-tooth smile. "Snatch and steal, eh?".

Sasuke nodded once. "We find one of the beasts, or their jinchuuriki, and we capture it. Hold it ransom".

"And the price for its return to Akatsuki is Itachi" Jugo finished, all of them piecing it together. "The plan is fine, but how do you know that Akatsuki will be willing to deal? If Orochimaru was a member, I'm guessing that they have more than enough strength to take us out".

Sasuke's eyes told Jugo the answer to that. He did not like to be told he was weaker. "They'll deal, or we kill the jinchuuriki and end their plan on the spot. Simple as that".

Nods went around the fire. Karin finally spoke now "Alright, we've got an idea. So how do we find a jinchuuriki?".

Sasuke turned up his ebon eyes, flashing from the light of the fire. "That won't be a problem" he said, and just once, his mouth upturning in a small smile.

* * *

The soundwaves from Sasuke's voice traveled far, fast. Even though he spoke in a hushed tone, the waves still travelled. They deteriorated as they moved through the air, but nothing escaped the ear of the one who was crouched on the rocks above watching. Sharp eyes took in every detail of Sasuke's swept back hair and even the sand beneath the four shinobi around the fire. And despite their distance, Sasuke's words touched the figure's ear, and made those eyes narrow. Hearing the plan was all the information he needed.

With that in mind, Itachi stood up, his sharingan flashing as he turned and leaped off into the desert sands.


	4. The Subtle Hand

**Chapter Four  
**_The Subtle Hand_

Naruto balanced a kunai on his finger, slowly turning it and watching as it reflected the sunlight. He then twitched the digit, sending the knife straight up into the air, and he caught it with the same hand, slipping his finger into the hole on the end of the hilt and spinning it around to come to rest in his palm. One of the things they taught all students at the academy was that a ninja was only as good as the tools they carried, from ninjutsu to kunai knives. Iruka-sensei teaching him how to hit the target in the practice hall and Kiba getting Akamaru to fetch every one of his knives that had fallen down… good memories.

He was sitting on a roof whose building overlooked one of the park's he'd been to a lot as a kid. Again, plenty of good memories of him and the other 'failures' hanging out here. Though this time, it was less about reminiscing and more about looking towards the future, which was one of the factors contributing to Naruto's lousy mood. Another was, of course, the dreams.

And the final was that Hinata had been called into the Hokage's office along with Kiba and Shino for a mission. They both hated that now. Before, either of them (more likely him, though) would have been ecstatic about being personally called in for a mission instead of just checking in once a day with Sakura and Kakashi-sensei to see if anything was available. But ever since they'd gotten together, it only spelled worry. Being personally called by the Hokage indicated a high-rank mission, one that more often or not, involved a high probability of not coming back. To both of them, that was unbearable for the other.

Finally, the sound of a sandal on roof tiles let Naruto turn his head.

"You know you could have just stopped by the shop, Naruto" Ino said, a smile and a bit of scolding in her voice. "I would have given you a hand there as well".

Naruto smiled and looked back at the park. "I know. I just wanted to talk and maybe get your help in a different way".

"Careful Naruto" Ino sat down beside him, nudging him playfully. "I know who your girlfriend is".

He let out a chuckle. It was nice not hating Ino anymore. "Yes, which means you know that I get significantly more than you do".

He got a punch on the shoulder for that. "You idiot" she shook her head with a grin on her face.

The mood dropped as Naruto turned away from her, and his eyes downcast slightly. "Ino, I need your help. Something's been bothering me for the last few weeks and I think it's time that I get help".

Ino's eyes turned sympathetic. "What is it? You know if you're hurt you're better off talking to Sakura than me".

"It's not an injury. At least not a physical one" Naruto crossed his legs. "I'm having these dreams. Only they're not dreams; like nightmares, but they're happening more often".

Ino's brow furrowed and she looked at Naruto, who, at that moment, seemed more depressed then she'd ever seen him. "What do you mean more often? Like, daydreams, or do you think that you're having seizures?".

"No. It's…" Naruto trailed off, unable to explain. He started again, but stopped himself. "Ino, you have to promise that you can't tell anyone about this. Not Sakura, not grandma Tsunade, not anyone. Okay?".

Ino shook her head. "Naruto I can't guarantee that. I'm obligated by law to give reports on any patients that I treat as a medical ninja. Report omission is a crime Naruto".

"So let's do this off the record" Naruto's face took on a look of minor desperation; he was really, truly worried. Ino had never seen him like this. "Please. As a favor to me Ino".

"I'll buy your share next time we go to Ichiraku's" Naruto offered, a hopeful smile on his face. Ino almost laughed aloud, but she settled for a kind smile and adjusting her seating on the roof. He was too cute.

"You can buy Choji's share next time you two go out" she said, patting his whisker marks with a genuine smile. "Now, what's wrong?".

Naruto felt his body warm up; Ino and he really had reconciled in the last little while. It was nice. "They started as just being a door. A big, iron door that I couldn't get through. That was the first week".

"Then it started getting strange. A lock appeared on the door, and then the kanji of the five great nations around it, all dark and with no color." Naruto felt his body shiver just at the mention. "And then, just a couple of nights ago, they all lit up, and the lock opened. That was the first time that it had happened".

"And what was inside the door?" Ino asked. This was unlike anything she'd ever heard. Was it a simple bad stomach, or something… more?

"I saw the Sharingan, Ino" Naruto didn't look at her. "And it… it said it could _see me_".

Ino's teal eyes blinked and widened. There was no way this could be a simple bad dream. "Okay… Naruto, have you been thinking about Sasuke or your promise to Sakura a lot recently?".

"Not any more than usual".

Ino nodded, taking the liberty of touching his shoulder and giving him some comfort. The poor guy obviously was traumatized by this. "Okay. Why don't you come with me back to my room above the shop and I'll do a proper diagnosis on you".

Naruto nodded, taking a deep breath with his eyes squeezed shut. "Alright. Let's just get this done quick, okay?".

Ino patted his back, flashing him a warm smile. "Sure thing. Let's go".

The two leaped into the air and bounded off the rooftops.

* * *

The Yamanaka flower shop wasn't far, and after forging a quick excuse for her father about why she was bringing Naruto up to her bedroom, Ino managed to get her comrade relaxed and sitting down. Naruto talked while she brewed a pot of tea, throwing a pinch of her mother's sage into Naruto's cup to calm him down.

Even with only a cursory glance, Ino could see he wasn't well. She'd been serving customers in the shop since she was ten, and thus, she'd learned to read her customers just as well as her mother. Naruto's hair, usually in flawless spikes, was slightly disheveled as if he'd come back from a long mission. Circles under his eyes indicated a lack of sleep and that he hadn't been drinking much of anything. A very slight lightening of his skin tone, along with a few new bits of acne and reddened skin on his face, furthered the idea that he hadn't slept much. She'd noticed a slight decrease in his reaction time as they traveled, and of course, he just seemed less energized and full of life, which was so patently him that it was enough to give her worry.

Ino brought the tea to the table and listened to Naruto's story as the two drank. While she hadn't thought there was much unusual about dreaming about the Sharingan, she listened more intently when he'd described passing out during the day, and especially during a training session. And that interest only piqued when he'd mentioned the prophetic warning about finding 'his' truth.

"But Hinata and I agreed that it'd be best to talk to you before anyone else, given that you know the mind better than anyone at the hospital" Naruto finished at last, taking another sip from his cup.

Ino nodded, looking at her own drink and thinking. Given how much this was bothering him, it might be appropriate to use… well, maybe not. She'd been told before that it was a rather invasive technique. But then again, he _was_ asking for help. And though she knew it was horrible given the situation… a little peeking on Naruto's sex life without his knowledge wouldn't hurt.

"Alright Naruto" Ino finished her tea and pushed the plate aside, clasping her fingers on the table. "I can't fix what's wrong with you, but I can probably determine if this is just a streak of a virus or something else. My mom taught me a few techniques when she heard I was becoming a medical ninja to deal with problems like this".

Naruto listened intently. "I have to give you a warning though. The jutsu that I'd use to do it requires me to enter your mind and take in every detail. It's not like my normal Mind Transfer, where all I do is take over your motor functions. I'd be able to look through your mind in a very intimate way".

Naruto blinked, now thinking twice. "You mean you'd be able to read my thoughts…?". If this wasn't a bad situation, Ino would have been jumping up and down at being able to uncover his secrets.

She shook her head. "Even more than that. I'd be able to feel and experience your mind at a level that even you can't. It's a technique that my clan uses when we need to heal really intense diseases that affect the mind".

Naruto's hands twisted and he bit his lip; it was clear that he was nervous about that level of invasion. "But you promise that you'll be able to find out what's wrong?".

Ino nodded again. "Without a doubt. Best-case scenario: you'll find out that it's just a bad bit of the flu and it's getting to your head. In which case I'll get some meds from the hospital for you and you'll feel a little better". She got up and put the plates away, turning away from Naruto.

"And… in the worst case?".

Neither of them wanted to think about that.

"Let's just focus on what's wrong with you right now, and then I can tell you after". Ino gave him an empty smile, to which he reciprocated one that seemed genuine.

"Okay, so how do we get started?" Naruto asked, putting his hands on his lap.

"Well, I put a relaxing agent in your tea made of a few herbs, so you'll feel a lot more calm when I enter your mind" Ino said, taking her seat at the table again. "I need you to… well I guess it'd be kinda like when you meditate. Just let all outside ideas fall out of your mind and think of something peaceful".

"Oh, I get it" Naruto smiled, and formed his hands into a kanji. "Like when I enter Sage Mode. Just relax, and let the flow of energy hold and take you away".

"Yeah, exactly" Ino said, adjusting her seat. She'd be here for a little while, most likely. "I want you to think of the most calming, soothing thing you can think of. Meditating in the forest, or lying in bed, whatever you like".

Naruto mumbled something under his breath, although Ino distinctly caught the word 'Hinata'. She couldn't help but smile at that; the two were a match made in heaven if she'd ever seen one. Though a pang of jealousy shot through her at their bond, she still felt happiness engulf her.

Ino readied the hand sign. "Okay Naruto. I'll see you soon".

Her chakra flowed through her and she focused it like diverting a river with a log jam. It all moved to her brain and her head, allowing a cool feeling of serenity to touch her mind. Not unlike pouring a bucket of soothing water over yourself after waking up in the morning. And then…

Ino's fingers jumped forward towards Naruto, and her eyes squeezed shut. "Ninja Art: Ultimate Soul Exchange Jutsu!".

Everything rushed away before Ino's closed eyelids. A simple lack of vision became a flashing universe of blacks, whites and greys that would have made any normal person blind from their sheer intensity and speed. Ino took it all in like she'd done it a million times; the key, she'd been told, was to remember that the transition was all an illusion that the brain puts up to prevent itself from being messed with. It was only a reflex, and she could push past it if she put a little effort into it.

And she did. Slowly, the swirling universe of shades faded away into black, and Ino opened her eyes slowly. 'She' stood in a world of darkness, with no light, and nothing else around her. Just endless darkness. She was in the Construct; a name her people had for the blank area within the mind that was created when the inhabitant's mind was calm. Under a normal mind-reading jutsu, the Construct didn't last long; a few seconds, max, if the person was in control of their own mind. But with Ino controlling Naruto's deepest thoughts and feeling, she could stabilize it easily. She reached out, touching his mind, and then…

The black was suddenly populated with stars and turned the entire expanse of the darkness around her into a beautiful night sky. She looked up, and recognized the constellations that she saw above the Leaf every night. Around her, more star patterns twinkled into existence, and again, Ino spotted a familiar pattern of stars, this time directly behind her. It must have been what the sphere of stars around the earth looks like at nighttime.

She reached out, admiring the tiny dots of light in the sky, and pointed her finger at one. Immediately, the star started shining brightly. Ino squinted as the radiance increased to the level where she couldn't see anything around her, and the sphere of the heavens that represented Naruto's mind disappeared. The brilliant shine didn't last, and soon decreased to the level where she could see again. She was surprised.

Before her, a memory played like a recorded video. But not on any screen or player. She stood in Naruto's bedroom, as if she was actually there, though she'd lost sight of her own body. She couldn't see her hands, torso or feet, as if they'd simply vanished. But she could still see the room around her, like an invisible agent sitting in a memory. It was actually a little frightening, but Ino didn't have time to reflect. The door to Naruto's room opened, and a black-orange figure stumbled in. Ino stared; was he dru- wait no… there was another person dragging him down.

Oh.

Hinata and Naruto had their lips locked together as they barely made it through the doorframe. Hinata spun the blonde around and pushed him against the wall, fiercely kissing him in a way that Ino would _never_ had thought Hinata was capable of. It was true that she'd gotten a lot more confident and strong since she'd gotten back to the village after the Akatsuki incident, but this was beyond even what Ino could imagine. The girl, who a year ago was barely able to complete a full sentence around the man that she loved, was now practically thrusting her tongue down his throat.

Ino couldn't lie to herself; she was jealous. That kind of confidence and that fierce determination had won her the man that she loved, and a man that wasn't bad at all. Naruto was an idiot, but her certainly had gotten better over the years. He was tall now, and his training gave him a body that was straight out of ancient statues of mythic shinobi and the gods themselves. His bravery and conviction was truly inspiring, and any girl loved a man who wasn't afraid to take…

Ino stopped herself. This wasn't what she was here for. She concentrated, and the scene shifted. Naruto and Hinata disappeared, and the room darkened as nighttime fell. A second later, Ino looked around to see that the two had moved to the bed on the far wall, sleeping soundly with the blankets covering their naked bodies. Ino rubbed her… well she didn't have legs, but she felt what was left of her form grow a little hot. She shook it off, and kept watching.

A second later, Naruto shot up out of bed, a small shout ripping from his throat. He clutched his chest as if in pain, and Ino saw his eyes dash around like he was looking for an unseen enemy. His pain was evident, but Ino even felt her own essence twist in pain, mimicking Naruto's hurt. She was in his mind, and as she recalled his memories, the emotions and feelings he felt transferred to her.

Hinata got up, lying on Naruto's chest. The two spoke, Naruto shaking off the dream as just having something bad to eat earlier that day (Ino didn't need to know the backstory of this memory to see that he was lying), and the two lay back down, slowly touching their lips together as they drifted off. Ino saw it now; this must have been the first time that the dreams came to Naruto.

Ino exited the memory, the scene around her shrinking into a blink of light, and her body reformed as she found herself standing back in the sphere of stars again. She'd found the original memory of the first time the dreams had come, now she needed to find the most recent. Ino looked around with her slightly translucent form, and it didn't take long to see what was obviously the memory.

A small, red star, like a very distant supernova, sat straight up above her head, burning like a tiny, shining fire and lording over all the other normal white stars obnoxiously. Ino nodded to herself, reaching up to touch the star, and it flared up. Light blinded her, but this was… different. Angrier, more aggressive light from the 'star' touched her eyes, making her actually wince with pain. The brightness actually seared her eyes, and Ino let out an involuntary groan from the sheer agony. She fell to her fading knees; the pain was just too much. It had to stop, it had to stop...

And then… it disappeared. Ino gasped for breath and held her eyes shut. It was still too painful to see. After a moment, Ino 'climbed' to her feet, managing to squint and look around, only to find that the searing went away. But that wasn't what she was focusing on, given what towered over her.

In front of her, a massive door stood. Made of old, sturdy metal that appeared to be iron, Ino knew that this could only be what Naruto spoke of. She couldn't blame him for being afraid. The door itself reeked of age and an ominous, terrible feeling that permeated her mind. A sense a dread and evil hung in atmosphere, making the air heavy, like breathing in algae. She almost panicked from the awful sense of fear that fell over her, and actually fell down onto her… hands?

Looking down, she saw that she had her body again. Hands, body, feet, everything. But since being a memory removed ones body, there was only one conclusion. That this was not a memory. And if it wasn't a memory, there was only one thing it could be. A third party had gained access to Naruto's mind, and placed something inside it. She needed to find out what.

Getting to her feet, she reached out with her hand, her chakra focused. Her palm started to glow with energy as she approached the lock, and Ino felt the air get even denser. She pushed through it, and pressed her hand to the lock. The symbols around it, the five elemental kanij that Naruto had described, blinked in a random, erratic fashion. The lock groaned as its metal bent and broke, and a second later, a massive crack ran up the lock mechanism. Ino took her hand away; that should do it.

Sure enough, the lock crumbled into flakes of iron, leaving an open porthole that permitted the girl to stare through. Cautiously.

But the room was not like Naruto described it. It wasn't all black, but it was well lit. The entire room reminded her of a maintenance shaft beneath an electric generator; a long tunnel with wires and cables running everywhere. They littered the floor and covered the walls and cieling. Ino didn't understand for a moment; Naruto said he'd seen the Sharingan in here. And then it hit her; that message was only meant for him. As an outsider, even though she was technically in Naruto's mind, she couldn't perceive it as he did. But this did offer a good opportunity.

Ino pushed open the wrecked iron door, slipping inside and hearing it shut behind her. The tunnel was, as far as she could tell, endless. It stretched on, despite the light, and she couldn't perceive the end. But it couldn't be endless. If there was a cause or catalyst that was causing Naruto's dreams, it was here, and she could at least find out what it was, if not remove it entirely. And so, she began to walk along the wires, down to the end of the tunnel.

At first, it really didn't seem to end, and Ino was inclined to give up. An instant later, the image at the end of the tunnel changed, and the end revealed itself. Ino approached, only to find a blank, steel wall, with a single piece of paper with a series of kanji written on it. She had to squint to read it in the light, but she could make it out.

"The truth will set me free".

A well-known quote from an old Shinobi text that mentioned the gods and those who worshipped them. But this was paraphrased; the original line was that the truth would set _you_ free, not _me_. Ino pondered the meaning, but blew it off. She was here to help Naruto, not think on philosophy. Reaching out, Ino grabbed the corner of the paper and tried to pull, but found that the paper was affixed to the wall. Well-attached, as well. Like someone had made it as part of the steel wall. She pulled a little harder, and suddenly, her vision spun.

The seal threw out a massive pulse of energy, tossing Ino back like a leaf from a fan. She crashed onto the cable-covered steel ground, groaning from the pain and lights flashing across her field of vision. She looked back at the wall to see the paper sink into the metal, which had taken on a liquid-like quality and allowed it to meld into the wall. A second later, it was gone.

But Ino's mind was on something else. What had thrown her back was not mere energy; she could tell as soon as it touched her. That was chakra. And not Naruto's chakra.

So that was it. Someone had placed a genjutsu inside his mind, and a damn advanced one at that. Most genjutsu broke as soon as the user released them or the victim broke its hold, but this was something else. Some kind of genjutsu that had been used subtly, perhaps entering his body through seeing a certain object that the user had placed a seal on. And now, it was what was tormenting him. She had to tell Naruto this, and while she felt like she had to tell Lady Tsunade about this, she _had_ promised him.

Ino let herself fall away from the tunnel, returning to the area surrounded by stars and Naruto's memories. She took a few breaths to calm herself and prepared to exit before stopping. Hmmm.

Time was slowed down while using this jutsu. The dilation was all relative, but generally, she'd seen her clan elders disappear for only a few minutes and then come back saying they'd spent an hour within the others mind. If hers was to that extent, Naruto wouldn't be suspicious if she took a few more minutes. And since he'd never know what she did in here anyway…

Ino concentrated, a devious smile on her face, and already formulating a plan to let her keep her body within a memory.

But in her preoccupation, Ino failed to notice the mass of chakra that slowly gathered behind her.

* * *

"I've no intention of losing any of my better hunter ninja on this mission" Tsunade leaned back in her chair, her fingers locked and crossed. "I want everyone back alive. This is a simple smash and grab mission, and then you get back to the village ASAP".

All three members of Team 8 nodded, though Kiba raised his voice. "Lady Hokage. If I may ask, is there any reason you have to suspect that there _will_ be anything of note? We don't even know if Orochimaru used this hideout in the last few years".

The Hokage nodded. "I'm not expecting anything that will be of tremendous use" Tsunade stood up and walked to the edge of her desk, leaning on it slightly and looking off to the side. "Though I will remind you that Orochimaru was once a friend and comrade of mine, as well as Master Jiraiya's mortal enemy for the last twenty years. If there's one thing that both of us learned since that time, it's that Orochimaru was and is a very slippery man".

She turned back to them. "I don't want anyone to continue his work, anyone to find a way to bring him back, or even worse, for him to find his own way to come back".

"Though needless to say, due to the potential danger that could lurk in one of Orochimaru's hideouts, I'm classifying this as an A-rank mission. Combat with enemy ninja is not to be ruled out. Is everything clear?" Tsunade placed her hands on her desk, putting on the best serious face she could muster given the circumstances.

"Yes, lady Hokage" the team said in a unison.

"Excellent" the Hokage nodded. "The likelihood of encountering enemies, though possible, is small, and this is a stealth operation that requires precision. Not to mention we're stretched enough thin on firepower already, so I'm sending you three alone without a jonin squad leader".

"Lady Hokage?" Kiba asked again. He'd been expecting a fourth member; the team had lost a sense of absolute completeness after Kurenai-sensei had been removed from active duty.

"You heard me Kiba" Tsunade said, her voice calm but stern. "I can't spare the manpower, and the three of you possess abilities that outstrip the standard chunin. All you're there for is to search for anything telling about Orochimaru and destroy the base when you're done. This needs to be done quickly and with minimal setbacks. A fourth member would be more of a hindrance than a help".

Kiba frowned, but nodded in understanding. Tsunade stood up straight. "Alright. You have your orders, briefing and tools. I want Team 8 to be mission ready and at the gates within 24 hours. Dismissed".

The three bowed their heads, and Kiba and Shino took the lead with Akamaru tagging behind his master. Hinata stepped behind them when Tsunade's voice rang out again. "Hinata, if I may have a word".

She let out a small sigh before giving her teammates a smile that slightly alleviated Kiba's frown. The door closed behind them, and Hinata turned back to the only other person in the room. The Hokage reached into the desk, taking out a clear bottle and a small saucer. Hinata had heard about this from Naruto; thank the gods that Shizune wasn't around.

"Yes, Lady Hokage?" Hinata asked, her hands behind her back.

"Any news?".

"No, milady. I've talked to a few of the clan's agents outside the village, but there's been nothing that I can report as anything substantial" Hinata let her hands fall to her side as a flash of movement caught her eye. She relaxed a little.

"Am I late?" Kakashi asked, sitting on the window and looking in. His customary book was missing, by the looks of it. He often forewent bringing them to these meetings; they tended to pass quickly.

"On the contrary. You showed up at a good time" Tsunade said, drinking down the saucer and refilling it. "Is there anything on your end, Kakashi?".

"Re-establishing connections with Master Jiraiya's contacts has been weighing me down, but I've got a fair bit of them active" Kakashi hopped into the office, his head slightly downturned. "Still though. I've checked all official and non-official channels. Underground, black market... there's nothing that I can trace".

Tsunade pushed herself away from her desk and stared out the window with a deep frown. This had been going on for months now, and it was starting to annoy her. "They can't hide forever. Wherever Akatsuki is, they have to be getting some kind of assistance from the outside world. Funds, weapons, supplies… something".

"It's a lot harder than we first thought" Kakashi said, stating what was quickly becoming obvious. "With only a handful of members, most of whom are former high-level shinobi in their own villages, it's more than likely they're using dummy corporations or behind the scenes manipulation of outside enterprises to get what they need".

"And the Hyuga network stretches all around the ninja world" Hinata continued. "It's more official than Master Jiraiya's network, but if Akatsuki wanted to break into government or feudal channels, we'd know about it".

This entire butterfly-chasing scheme had been going on for a while now. After Hinata had been placed back on active duty by Tsunade, she had been brought into this operation, confined to the best intelligence agents the Leaf had to offer. The Hyuga had connections inside the political towers of other villages, while other clans like the Nara and the late Master Jiraiya had contacts inside the Shinobi underworld. They'd been trying to locate and lock down the Akatsuki's supply lines, but as everyone involved had soon found out, the criminal organization was very good at covering its tracks".

"Well they're getting what they need somehow" Tsunade clenched her fists and her brow furrowed even further. "We need to start narrowing our search. Focus more on the likely supply lines and investigate. Kakashi: what are the most nondescript ways of getting funding if you don't want to be found?".

He let out a sigh and folded his arms. "It depends. Assuming that they have no political control, they'd have to go through the underground, but with minimal members, any large operations would be out of their control. I'd say collaborating with smuggling rings or assassination contracts".

"Get any of Jiraiya's contacts that know the biggest gangs in the five nations and get intel from them. I'll assign some of our spare chunin to keep an eye on the bounty stations within our borders, and a few outside of them. That's all, Kakashi".

"Of course, Lady Hokage" he said, tilting his head and closing his one visible eye, indicating a smile. The next second, a puff of smoke enveloped his body and he disappeared, leaving only Hinata and Tsunade alone.

"As for you Hinata, there's not much more I can ask then what you're already doing" Tsunade admitted, letting out a breath while turning back to her. "You've done well for yourself and your clan in the last few months, pulling all your resources to hunt down the Akatsuki, and I appreciate that".

"But apparently, it's still not enough" Hinata finished.

The Hokage looked away. "Apparently not". She turned back to the window, looking out over the village. "They are out there, and they're coming our way".

"You mean they're coming Naruto's way" Hinata said, connecting the dots. She'd been informed of the Akatsuki's plan some time ago, and learned of Naruto's… burden, officially, shortly thereafter.

"Maybe for now" Tsunade said, frowning. "But if they manage to get ahold of all the tailed beasts, all of us will be in danger. Whatever their endgame is, I don't doubt that they'll flatten anyone who tries to stop it".

Hinata didn't have anything to say to the rather somber statement, and silence fell over the office for a few moments before Tsunade spoke again. "How is the kid doing, anyway?".

"He's well. Some trouble sleeping, but well" Hinata omitted the dreams. Naruto was right; Tsunade would only make things more difficult, and she _had _promised him she wouldn't tell.

"Maybe telling him to keep his hands off you for a few nights would help get him a better sleep, eh?" she asked, her mouth upturning in a grin.

"L-lady Hokage!" Hinata almost took a step back, her old, bashful side rushing back at the unexpected question.

"Can I expect a grandkid soon?" she asked again, this time letting out a chuckle. Tsunade didn't giggle.

She stuttered again and blinked, trying to formulate a sentence. "I'm teasing you, Hinata" Tsunade turned back to her. Teasing the uptight was practically a profession for her now; from the elders to the Hyuga, they were all a laugh. "I know that you two are right for each other, but I don't want you to rush things. You're legally adults, but barely".

Hinata brushed the hair from her eyes and felt a small blush come to her cheeks. Tsunade had and was acting like a grandmother to both of them, and it really did make Hinata feel better. Having someone who actually cared about her. About them. "Thank you, Lady Tsunade".

The Hokage gave her a warm smile, still standing at the window. "You're welcome, Hinata".

Another silence engulfed the room, until Hinata broke it this time. "I should get my equipment ready for the mission. And speak to Kurenai-sensei".

Tsunade nodded. "Very good. And speak to your contacts in the lesser nations as well; the Hidden Grass and Hidden Rain in particular. We've been lacking surveillance in those areas".

Hinata bowed her head, turning towards the door. "Yes, Lady Hokage" she moved to exit when Tsunade spoke again.

"Oh, and Hinata?" Tsunade's voice raised and she cracked a smile. Hinata could tell what was coming was bad. "Make sure to give Naruto an extra nice goodbye present".

Rather than blush, Hinata decided to surprise both of them. "If you insist. But he won't be any good for a few days if I do" Hinata slipped far too much sultriness into her tone and even flashed a wink. Tsunade's smile immediately disappeared. Had she heard right?

Hinata closed the door behind her and leaned against the wood. Inside, she was screaming at herself. Even with her newfound courage after Akatsuki, that was way beyond what she would have normally said. Tsunade even seemed surprised. She blinked a few times, walking down the corridor to the stairs and the exit.

It was sort of fun though, she said to herself. And she _definitely_ planned on giving Naruto a very sweet goodbye present.

* * *

Ino reached out, indicating another star with her finger. As before, the light shone bright and enveloped her, though this time, her body remained. It hadn't taken much experimentation to find out that she _was_ Naruto in this mindscape, and technically, that meant it was her (or his) mind. All she had to do was think about her body, and it reappeared. Which was better than good for her.

She'd been sorting through his memories, finding just the right one that she wanted, and one that had been on her mind when she first thought of using the jutsu. Several weeks ago, Naruto and Hinata had been sent on a joint mission that both happened to take them to the Hidden Sand to escort a shipment of weapons and scrolls back to the Leaf. Apparently, they'd been chosen for their exceptional teamwork, but Ino and Tenten (Sakura had refused to comment) had very different ideas about what happened on that trip. They _were_ still teenage girls.

Naruto's smile when they came in through the gates with the shipment was also a dead giveaway.

Finally, she'd found what she was looking for. Naruto's memories of that week; contained within a small star cluster a little bit to the right of the memory she'd seen of the first time the dreams hit him. The star exploded in radiance, filling her field of vision, and a second later, the light faded. Ino stood, and actually stood with her incorporeal human form this time, in a grove of trees amongst a massive forest all around her. Most likely close to the Land of Fire's borders, given how much ground the two could have covered if they'd left in the morning. In front of her was a slowly burning campfire, a handful of overturned logs around it and _one_ double bedroll beneath a tarp that covered the campsite from the evening rainfall.

And on top of the bedroll, Naruto lay beside Hinata's body, both of them wearing nothing as they slowly made out under the tarp. They faced one another, arms wrapped around each other, locked in a hot kiss. Ino only stood there, watching the two, and felt herself grow moist between her legs; the two limbs unconsciously pressing against one another firmly. The two then moved more suddenly, Naruto lowering his head down to suck on Hinata's breasts roughly and making her moan loudly and clench her fists in his hair. Ino watched him work; his technique was almost flawless. A surface of power and control over her, yet looking more closely, she could see that he was being gentle with his dominance and taking care not to hurt her.

"Oh gods, yes!" Hinata spoke with a tone midway between a shriek and a moan, and Ino reached down, rubbing herself through her skirt. Of her many fetishes, rough sex with a man who knew what he wanted, and took it, was undoubtedly the strongest. Power games got most girls off, but for Ino, the desire was especially strong. As it appeared, Hinata shared the same trait.

"Take it Hina" he grunted, reaching down to cup her pussy. "Take it all for me". Oh god, that voice… he had sounded so childish before, so unappealing, but now… it was like his voice had dropped three octaves, and it sounded _so_ sexy. Ino sank to her knees, pushing down her skirt and rubbing herself under her purple panties, her other hand clawing at her left tit.

Hinata didn't speak at all, she only threw her head back, gasping and moaning at what he was doing to her. Naruto slid a finger inside her wet sex as he sucked on her breasts, lightly biting and licking her nipples while alternating between both of them. A second later, he'd pushed Hinata onto her back and climbed on top of her without missing a beat, continuing his unbelievably pleasurable torture of her body. Ino couldn't look away; she could only keep pushing herself closer to her release, using her right hand to tear off her top and knead her nipple while she mimicked Naruto's actions, slipping a finger into her own dripping cunt and letting out a gasp of pleasure.

Ino bent over out of reflex, moaning vigorously now but still keeping her sights on the memory playing out in front of her. She could only imagine what Naruto really was like in bed, if this was how good he just looked. She watched him push a second finger into Hinata's pussy and position his hard (and long) cock above her sex, waiting to thrust into her. Ino pushed another digit into herself as well, whimpering. She _needed_ to get off. This was just far too hot, watching a man who was damn near a god of sex give his beloved so much pleasure. She knew it was wrong, she knew it was a betrayal, but she couldn't help it.

Ino's thoughts only focused on him. His body, his fingers, his cock, his mouth… all so powerful and perfect in their own rights, and the muscles beneath them that controlled their strength and movement. She wanted Naruto so much in that moment; everything about him turned her on and made her soaking wet. He moved forward, pushing his cock past her lips and into her body… oh gods, it was too much. Ino slid a third finger into herself and moved her thumb to press and nudge her clit. She let out a momentary shriek, watching Hinata beg for him.

"Fuck yes! Fuck my tight little pussy Naruto! Fuck me good!" Hinata's eyes were squeezed shut for a moment before she looked up at the man dominating her, staring him dead in the face. She was panting and breathing hard, feeling her entire body warm from his power and thrusting. Ino did everything she could to bring herself to orgasm faster; she pinched her clit and kneaded her breast even harder. It still wasn't enough… she wanted more. She wanted him.

"Naruto, please! I want it! Give it to me!" this time, the voice came from Ino as she pushed herself closer and closer to the edge. "God, I want you… I want your cock and your mouth! Please… Naruto!". She should have felt so guilty and bad for feeling that way about her friend's lover and partner, but she didn't care. It was all about the end. She was so near now… almost there…

Ino exploded a few seconds before they did, all three of them screaming their releases. Naruto and Hinata came together while Ino drenched her hand in her juices, moaning and whimpering. Her release left her shaking as her head leaned far enough forward to just rest on the ground while she panted and breathed heavily. It was so good, so intense. Ino had never had an orgasm that powerful or one that got her so wet and hot.

Ino kneeled on the ground, still dripping with her own cum and covered in sweat, which appeared despite the dreamstate that she was in. The memory started fading away as Naruto and Hinata lay next to one another; they must have fallen asleep after that rough bout, ending Naruto's perception of the outside world. It faded to black as Ino tried to get to her shaking feet, but failed. She was still too struck by her intense release to be able to move on her own competently. The stars blinked back to life in the expanse of the darkness around her as she returned to the Construct, and Ino opened her eyes, still breathing hard. She moved to withdraw the jutsu with a hand sign, having found out all she needed to know here.

That was when she found she couldn't. She tried moving her hands together to form the ram sign, but it wasn't working. At first, she thought it was just the aftereffects of the intense orgasm, but a second more of trying told her it wasn't. She really _couldn't_ put her hands together, like there was an invisible barrier between them. She couldn't disrupt this jutsu with her mind in her current state; she needed a hand sign to stop her chakra and end it properly. Ino breathed faster and her irises shrunk in panic. What was going on?

She had her answer a second later when an invisible force grabbed her in a vice grip, like every muscle in her body had been placed in a steel shell; unable to even squirm. Ino slowly levitated off the ground, still imprisoned by the force and stuck in a form of sheer vulnerability with her arms and legs outstretched and spread apart. This would have been embarrassing if it weren't so utterly terrifying. Was it the genjutsu activating some kind of defense mechanism? It had to be; there wasn't anything else that could hold this much power in a mindscape.

Was there?

Around her, the Construct faded, with the stars of Naruto's memories blinking out as if someone had flipped their switches. All was dark for a few seconds before another scene faded into existence, one that screamed dread.

She was in what appeared to be a derelict maintenance room, but more… sinister. Pipes ran all across the ceiling, many of them leaking and dripping liquid, while the floor was moderately flooded with a few centimeters of water. But the air and the atmosphere around her… it was heavy. Moist, and it was more of a struggle than usual just to breath. The temperature was warm, but not a dry warm like a fire in a hearth or a stove burner; a damp heat that made Ino feel like she was sweating all over. Even more than she already was.

And then, slowly, she began to turn. Her body moved without her control, and she still couldn't free herself, too scatterbrained to release the jutsu and leave Naruto's mind. A second later, her paralyzed body had completely turned in midair, and what she saw before her, had she been able to open her mouth, would have made her scream.

"**Well, well, well… what do we have here…**"


	5. A Taste

**Chapter Five  
**_A Taste_

**A/N**: Apologies for the time this took to get out; midterms are on the horizon and I've been needing to divert my focus. It's also difficult to write the scenes in this chapter because they tend to get repetitive. I'm sure you'll know what I mean when you finish it, but please let me know how I did on both scenes between characters. I hope you all enjoy, and I'll be along soon with another update.

* * *

Ino felt the invisible restraints shackling her movement vanish, only to fall right into another one in the shape of a clawed hand around her throat. The power and strength behind it was unbelievable, the owner holding her body in the air with little effort, let alone its vice-like grip. She panicked out of reflex, grabbing the hand that choked her and trying to pry it off. The effort only made the fingers tighten.

The one holding her resembled a human, having the basic body structure and features, but the resemblance ended there. He - or maybe it - stood at a massive height; over two meters at least, with a body that screamed power. Muscles that would put the strongest shinobi in the Leaf to shame (he wore no clothes, she noted) and an attitude to match. His hair was swept back in a manner not unlike Sasuke's was, only it was a scorching orange, like the very center of a roaring fire. His jaw line and face appeared to be set with steel rods instead of bones, giving him a hard, uncompromising look, while the eyes flashed red. Not like the Sharingan's crimson, but a furious red with slits instead of circles for irises.

His fingers, tipped with claws instead of nails, crunched on her throat as his grip constricted. She could still breath, but barely.

"**So.**" His primal, bass voice rang in her ears and Ino felt her spine shiver. "**A little kitten has stuck her nose where it doesn't belong…**".

"NO!" Despite his grip, she could still speak. Almost. "Please… I was only trying to help Naruto!".

"**Don't take me for an idiot, fleshling**" he growled, baring his teeth. They were stark white, and all sharpened to a point that they made shark teeth look dull. "**Would you like to explain before I kill you, or should I just skip the excuses and rip your throat out?**".

"Please…" Ino felt her eyes water from both pain and fear. "Please… I was only trying to figure out Naruto's dreams… it was a favor for him!".

The nails dug into her neck, and Ino felt her skin break in at least one place that the claws had her. "**Go on…**".

"I just wanted to see what it was like" Ino whimpered, her tears falling down her face and touching his bare hand. This was too humiliating. "I've never had sex before, and I wanted to see how good Naruto was. How hot he was".

"**How petty. Taking advantage of your abilities and a friend to satisfy your own, weak desires**" the man hissed with contempt, but the corner of his mouth tweaked into a smile. "**But at least you're honest**".

"I know! I know it was wrong, I know I'm a bad person!" Ino screamed, still kicking her legs in futility. "Please… just please don't kill me!".

"**I'm still deciding, kitten**" He looked her up and down with the eye of a predator, looking for something she couldn't discern. "**I've seen your face… you're one of the mindwalkers, aren't you?**".

She nodded slowly. This… thing knew her clan? Sure, perhaps through seeing Naruto's memories, but he spoke in a way that implied _he _knew who they were.

"**Yes… I remember your clan all those years ago**" she felt his grip tighten, and a drop of hot liquid run down her throat. "**You were the insects in my head. Trying to stop my rampage. I remember the incessant itch… like a bee sting in my skull...**". He turned his head and spat on the floor, fire in his eyes.

"Wait… rampage?" Ino was lost; her clan had tried to stop him from what rampage? "What are you talking about, we never did…". She was cut off by the sudden lack of air getting to her lungs.

"**DO. NOT. LIE.** **To me fleshling**" hatred enveloped his face like she had never seen, and he lowered her closer to his face. His razor teeth flashed as he spoke. "**You know of what I speak. Your clan tried to get inside my head, and…**" he trailed off, looking like he was in thought for a second.

And then he started to smile. A smile of terrible foreboding; like he'd just caught dinner in a mousetrap. "**Girl: You don't know what I am, do you.**" It wasn't a question.

Ino looked at him again in a helpless attempt for the answer. His entire form gave off the perception that he certainly wasn't human: from a body that looked like it could be chiseled out of stone to his flaming, deadly eyes to the fact that the very air seemed to feel heavier in his presence all supported that conclusion. But she couldn't place it. She shook her head.

His grin expanded, and suddenly his hand sprang open like it was spring-loaded, and Ino felt herself fall to the ground. She landed on her back on the moderately flooded floor, with the one who captured her standing over her. Fear and awe struck through her at the same time; it was like looking at a god in human form. He kneeled down, and Ino tried to scramble back, only to find out that she couldn't move backwards; another invisible force blocked her.

His angry red orbs pierced her teal ones easily, and he stared into them for a few moments. "**Your elders have kept the village's secret well. I cannot say that I blame them**" he said with a frown before turning back to her, the smile returning. "**Haven't you ever wondered how Naruto managed to claim victory, even in some of his toughest battles?**".

Ino wanted to speak, but he cut her off. "**I'm sure you were there, three years ago. At the Chunin exams, when Naruto faced the Hyuga boy**". He leaned in closer. "**What did you see, when he was close to defeat, kitten?**".

That was a long time ago, but Ino remembered it well enough. It had puzzled her for days afterward, now Naruto had managed to pull that off. He'd suddenly reopened all his chakra points and restored his chakra, even after Neji had shut them all off. Nobody had any idea, or at least nobody who she talked to, what had caused that. But she remembered it now. Feeling the chakra he emitted washing over her like a ripping wind. It was the same feeling that she felt now, in this thing's presence.

"That was… you?" Ino asked, her voice broken up. "All that chakra he put out, all at once, that was you?".

"**Correct…**" he trailed off, his eyes saying that he wanted more. He wanted her to figure it out on her own. "**You were too young, maybe not even born yet, to remember the day that I came to your village. But your elders do. And they've kept the secret hidden from you all this time**".

Ino shook her head, still trying to get away from him but hitting that barrier again. "What, what secret? What are you talking about? What are you!?" The questions came flying out before she could stop them. Her outburst triggered a spike of pain from her throat, and she realized that she was still bleeding from his claws. She reached up a hand to cover the wounds as she winced in pain.

He chuckled at her injuries before tilting his head to the right, his eyes moving past her. "**Look behind you, fleshling**". She turned, and craned her neck to look up.

The scene that she'd seen when she arrived, just more of this ominous hallway, was gone. In its place, the two lay in front of a massive gate, standing dozens of heads taller than either of them. It stretched from one side of the room to the other, and reached all the way up to the roof. There was no lock on the door, but instead, a massive seal tag with a kanji written on it occupied the space where the lock would have been. That was the most intriguing thing about the door.

She didn't want to ask, but she knew she had to. "What… what _is _this place?".

"**I suppose you could call it my home. I prefer 'prison'**".

"I… you're trapped here?" she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. "What are you, some kind of evil spirit?".

"**You still don't understand, kitten**" he frowned. This was starting to annoy him, but he had one last idea. "**I will **_**show**_** you what I am, and then you will have a reason to be afraid…**".

She was about to ask again, when he grabbed the front of her shirt, yanking her up to his face while he leaned down. "**Look into my eyes, little fleshling. Look into my eyes, and see what is right in front of you…**".

She did. A second after he said that, the crimson, slitted irises spun like pinwheels, their original shapes and colours vanishing and being replaced by… a vision. Everything around the eyes disappeared as Ino lost herself in the chaos of the things orbs. She saw, the village. The Leaf seemed peaceful; it was nighttime, and nothing seemed to have changed about the village. Until Ino saw out of the corner of her eye, the mountain bordering the village; Lady Tsunade's face on the monument was missing. What?

And then, a massive explosion lit up the front gate. Smoke and fire shot into the air higher than the Hokage monument; she could hear screams even from her birds-eye view of the village. The smoke obscured almost everything in sight for a moment as the sound of the explosion died down, leaving only the screaming people. She wanted to wince and cringe from the horrors. And then, all the noises of pain were overshadowed as a furious roar ripped through the night. The smoke shifted suddenly; something was moving inside it, and coming towards her. The roar came again, and a massive appendage, a tentacle or tendril, ripped through the smokescreen and lashed down, crushing three buildings. But this one, it was not scaly or anything, but covered in red-orange… fur? The same fur that coated the man. Wait, it couldn't be…

Ino would have let her eyes shoot open in shock as a colossal, four-legged form emerged from the smoke, covered in the same kind of fur. Its head was that of a predator, a long muzzle ending in twin nostrils and filled with razor sharp canines, front eyes that possessed the same, striking red, and ears that stretched even longer than the head. Its body was massive, stretching for at least five city blocks. And behind it, a series of swinging and waving tails thrashed like a fan of fire. She couldn't count them they were moving so fast.

And she didn't need to.

The vision ended, but it barely fazed Ino, whose eyes had taken on a vacant, terrified expression. He reappeared in front of her, grinning like a… well, what he was, and his terrible red orbs shining in victory.

"You're supposed to be dead…" Ino trailed off. His existence was nothing now; an old war story to scare the academy students. For a time, even she had believed he was a myth.

"**Yet here I am**" he was almost purring now. He enjoyed her terror. "**I am your village's best kept secret. Many of the adults who didn't see the attack firsthand think I am only a legend. Even other villages are not sure that I exist anymore**".

He leaned in closer, only a few inches from her lips. "**But I do**".

"How… how is this…" she started.

"**I don't have the patience to deal with your questions, kitten. Right now I must decide what to do with your sneaky little self**" he interrupted, baring his teeth.

"Please, just let me go!" Ino was almost sobbing now that she knew what he actually was. "I won't tell anyone about you, I swear!".

"**I'm not going to kill you**" the Nine-tails stood up, revealing his body in full again and taking a few steps away from her. "**There would be no point. And you'd be more trouble in death then you are right now. Naruto would never stop annoying me…**".

"I don't understand" Ino said, now sure of her question. "You hate me, and you hate everyone else in our village, but you seem to accept Naru-".

"**He has earned my respect, kitten**" the humanoid fox snarled, looking at her from over his shoulder. She was shocked at his dedication to his host. "**I wanted him dead more than any other human in this world at first, but he's shown me his power. Any silver-tongued person can sell themselves, and promise others the world. The true test of your integrity is whether or not you can and will follow through on those promises.**".

He turned around, walking past her to stand in front of the cage doors. "**And he has. Naruto has proven his strength, and proven that he is a shinobi, and a man, worthy of respect**".

Ino wanted to say something but coming up short. The Nine-Tails dedication to its host, despite what Ino would have imagined, were remarkable. She'd even go so far as to say that he liked his jinchuuriki, beyond just respecting him. She turned to face the personification of the beast, looking at him as he stared at the colossal cage gate. She couldn't help but admire the form. Even though it wasn't real, there wasn't a man in the Leaf, let alone the Five Nations, who wouldn't kill to have that body. And there weren't any women, too, Ino thought with a tiny sm-

"**What are you doing, fleshling?**" came his voice. He turned around slowly, his red eyes catching Ino's as they scanned his backside. The Fox turned his head over his shoulder, looking for what she was looking at, before the grin came back. Oh no.

"**You truly are a hot little kitten, aren't you?**" he asked, turning back to her fully. She wasn't too gripped by fright to notice that, between the legs of the Nine-Tails' human form, there was nothing. Instead, his pelvis was covered by simple, unblemished skin. It was both odd and stunning at the same time; like one of the gods had come down in human form. Maybe he _was_ a god.

"**You're staring down the most fearsome of the tailed beasts**" the Fox chuckled, standing over her now. That invisible, chakra wall was back. She was trapped. "**The one who destroyed your village, slaughtered your people and has wrought mass terror on the world. And all you can think about is spreading your legs for him?**".

She tried to protest, she really did, but his voice cut through the air. "**Don't deny it. I can smell you from here**" his nostrils flared in reflection to the statement. "**Maybe I should play with you before you leave here…**".

Now she spoke. "NO!" Ino shrieked, pushing the soles of her feet on the ground and doing a clean backflip onto her feet. She was not a scared little girl, and the threat of rape by this beast wouldn't scare her into submission. Ino sprinted forward, right shoulder forward, and brought her fist up in a left cross aimed for the Nine-Tails head.

He wasn't there. He didn't even move, he just disappeared. Ino looked around, only to feel his hand back on her throat as soon as she tried to turn around. Not like before though; his nails weren't hurting her, and he was grasping her from behind, pushing her back into his front. His other was clutching her wrists in a vice grip, preventing her from doing anything but wiggle a little. She was perfectly trapped.

"**Don't they train you better than this?**" he asked, hissing in her ear. His breath was sickeningly warm. "**Down here, I make the rules. You can be the fastest shinobi in the real world and you will be nothing within my cage. You're completely at my mercy, kitten**".

She still struggled, writhing and pushing against him. She could barely speak with his hand on her throat, but she tried. "I… WON'T… LET YOU CONTROL ME!" she spat.

"**I don't have to control you, fleshling**" his voice changed now; it was less angry, and smoother. "**You're doing it all yourself. You know what you want, you just won't admit it to yourself. And if you won't give in, then I'll take what I want. I've already given you a mere taste of my abilities down here**".

"Please don't…" Ino tried to keep her dignity, and held back hot tears. "Please… just let me go with what I have… I can't-".

"**Relax, kitten**" his tone returned to normal, the sultriness of it evaporating in an instant. "**I'm going to let you go, and I'm going to let you go with your body and virginity intact**".

She didn't stop to ask how he knew she was a virgin. She was about to thank him when he cut her off. "**Don't mistake my choice for kindness. Rape is much less fun than making you give in to me willingly.**".

That last statement made her blink. "What do you mean…"

She felt his cheek touch hers from behind, and a sound, like liquid sloshing, suddenly touched her ears. "**But I'm going to give you a gift before you leave here. I'll leave it up to you whether or not you want to use it**".

She breathed heavier; his body was losing its roaring heat and becoming a pleasant warm now. From behind, she felt something probe her backside. "What…" she sighed. She really didn't want to, but couldn't help it. His heat was nearly making her melt. "What kind of gift?".

"**A small portion of my chakra**" The hand that was holding her wrists released her, sliding around to her belly and a single finger grazed her belly. Even that made her shudder, like all her nerves sensitivity had been multiplied fivefold. The finger started to glow, the same red-orange as the Fox's fur, and Ino felt it get warmer. Slowly, a pattern began to appear as he traced it over and over, showing up like black ink on her skin. The color began to fade, and Ino felt her whole body

She shook even further when she felt something slide between her legs. Something long that angled itself so it cupped her pubic mound perfectly. Wait, did he just… "**Tonight, after everyone's asleep, tap into that chakra, and use it for a shadow clone jutsu**" she felt his lips brush her ear, and her knees started to feel weak. Gods… no, she couldn't give in...

"And what… what if I don't want it?" she was openly panting now. He must be doing something to her; she'd never felt this warm in her life.

"**Then don't use it**" he stated simply. Ino felt the Nine-Tails tongue touch her ear, ever so slightly, and the thing between his legs push up against her clothed pussy harder from behind. "**Use the chakra on a different jutsu. But you and I both know that that isn't going to happen...**".

She couldn't stop him from talking; everything was too hot. "**You're ready to do it now, aren't you? You just can't admit it to yourself. You're ready for me to fuck you, and for you to bend over and scream...**" Ino was sucking down air like she'd just gotten back after a long run, and she could feel her heart flutter. She felt the head of the cock he'd created touch her, and made her whole body shake again. Her panties were pushed aside; she could slip it in if she just moved herself enough… He was right. She wouldn't say it openly, but he was. She was ready now. Please, she wanted to say, just do it.

"**Don't forget, kitten**" he purred, pushing the head of his cock against her dripping opening. "**This is our little secret. I'll see you tonight**". Ino felt him enter her and the cry erupt from her throat as the world flashed, and everything vanished.

Ino opened her eyes with a gasp as her irises shrank, getting used to the light again. She coughed loudly; the transition had still been violent, despite the fact that she hadn't properly exited. Exhaustion would be setting in soon, she could figure out that much.

She was back in her bedroom, with Naruto sitting across from her at the table. He opened his own eyes, standing up at her distress. "Ino! What happened?" he rushed to her side, putting a hand on her back.

She slowly got her bearings before speaking. "I'm okay, Naruto. It was just an intense shift back" she put a hand to her chest, feeling her heart begin to slow.

"So, did you see anything inside my head?"

"Yes. I found the door you talked about, hidden inside your mind. But past the door, I found a seal tag encoded with someone else's chakra" she looked at him seriously "There's no doubt Naruto. Someone's put a genjutsu in your mind, to be activated at their whim".

She continued. "And that chakra wasn't normal. It was hard. Cold. Like it was chakra carved from an arctic stone" her face was marred by worry; even Naruto could fill in the blanks.

Naruto's eyes were downcast, so she couldn't see them, but his fists clenched so hard they shook. "Sasuke…"

Ino nodded; he couldn't see her, but she needed to let it out. "It was the chakra of an Uchiha; I recognized it from when Sasuke was still in the village".

Naruto raised his head and turned back to her. Only one of his cerulean blue orbs looked at her. "Ino, you remember that you promised not to tell _anyone_ about this, right?" he asked "I need you to hold to that promise".

She nodded. It was against her better judgement, but she still nodded. "I know Naruto. Just, please, don't do anything too stupid, please?".

He looked away again. "I won't. I don't know what I'm going to do about it. But I know that I'll find out. And then I'll figure out where Sasuke is, and I'll bring him home".

Ino wanted to speak, but she didn't dare. She wasn't sure what would come out if she did. "However he did it, he placed a highly advanced genjutsu in your head. I can't deactivate it, even with my abilities" she stood up, walking around the table so she could see his face. "I suggest, if you really don't want to tell anyone about this, that you think about any possibilities about what he's trying to tell you. Or wait for the dream to come again, and maybe you can get some new information".

Naruto nodded slowly, closing his eyes in an attempt to calm himself. "Thank you, Ino" he said simply, before looking at her. "This means a lot to me. I'll figure something out".

She gave him a small smile as Naruto turned for the exit of the door. He shot her a flashing, cute smile that was so him before he closed the door. Ino sat on her bed for a moment before walking to the door, turning the lock and heading for her bedside table. She had a lot of stress she needed to relieve.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Naruto's mood had improved when he reached his apartment building. Stopping at Ichiraku's and ordering a couple bowls of ramen had done him well, and running into Choji had given his attitude a boost as well. Though he'd paid for the whole thing (better to pay debts quickly, he reasoned), it was still nice.

He walked up the stairs and pushed open the door to his apartment with more effort than usual. Everything was much cleaner than it would have been a few months ago, since Hinata had moved in. Naruto had thought the limited space would be problematic, until he'd spoken with the lands owner, and got permission to blow out the walls separating the next apartment over from his. Nobody had lived there for years; he'd known that. Naruto suspected it had to do with not wanting to live next to the Nine-Tails jinchuuriki, but it didn't matter. Knocking out the walls had tripled his apartment size, and had allowed him and Hinata to spend a week remodeling it when she'd moved in with him. Thank the gods that Hiashi hadn't cut off Hinata's access to the Hyuga clan's funds when he'd found out she was in love with Naruto.

That transition was actually smoother than expected. Despite their rocky history, and his massive disapproval of his daughter and first heir choosing a partner outside the clan, Hiashi had accepted Naruto. He'd spoken with him when he first found out about him and Hinata, and told him, in no uncertain terms, that despite everything, Naruto showed promise, strength, and above all, conviction. Hiashi had said that whatever else may happen, if there was one man he was sure wouldn't break Hinata's heart, it was Naruto. And that he trusted him. At that moment, Naruto had never felt more shocked and touched in his life.

Of course, pressure from the Hyuga elders had forced Hiashi to 'officially' disown Hinata for breaking the ancient Hyuga statutes, but the action was hollow. Hinata was still allowed at the Hyuga compound, still allowed to see Neji and Hanabi, and her father had granted her access to any of the clans resources that she may need, as long as she flew under the elders radar. And judging by the well-furnished and brilliant place that the two had built together, she'd not wasted any of those privileges.

He unzipped the orange-black jacket and tossed it next to the door; he was only wearing a black undershirt beneath, and his skin needed the air. "Hinata!" he looked around the living room when he called for her. She had been called out on a mission: maybe she was working with Kiba and Shino on planning their attack, or whatever they were doing.

He walked further into the apartment, to hear that the shower was running. He peered through the door (he still wasn't used to having a bathroom that was big enough for a bathroom and a shower), and smiled. She was facing away from him and towards the left wall and the showerhead. Her lavender hair was sprayed across her back while the water hit her face. Hinata's arms were hung at her sides, and she was standing still as she just enjoyed the flow. Naruto only smiled.

Several minutes later, the sound stopped and Hinata pushed open the door. She took the liberty of looking at her body in the tall mirror next to the shower, something she did every few days. She turned to her side, running a hand over her hips and curves. Ever since they'd gotten together, she'd began paying a lot more attention to her figure. She'd shifted her training regimen away from the Gentle Fist and towards her endurance and chakra practice, which not only reflected her new battle style, she started to burn off more of her body fat and keep her muscle size at a steady level.

The result was that Hinata's body shape evened out; her thighs and stomach got more toned, whereas her breasts and ass shrunk. Neither of the latter bothered her. Before, it had been too much of an inconvenience to bind her breasts before every mission, and the size shift hadn't been that much anyway; she'd gone from a mid-E to a mid-D in a few months, which she thought looked a lot better on her figure. She beamed and permitted herself to spin on her toes.

When she landed back towards the mirror, a pair of hands clasped around her wet, naked body. One touched the right side of her waist, and the other hovered over her tummy. A glance at the reflection of her told her all she needed to know.

"You didn't think I was going to let you go off on a mission without a sendoff, did you?" Naruto leaned down to nuzzle his face into her neck. Hinata shivered; he was cold against her warm, still-damp skin.

"I'm still not dry yet, Naruto…" she stuck a little whininess into her voice, even pursing her lips into a pout. "You're going to soak your clothes".

"Excellent point" he smiled and kissed her neck before a shadow clone poofed into existence behind him; he didn't even use a hand sign. The clone took out a kunai, slicing off Naruto's mesh undershirt and pants inside of a moment. Hinata lowered one of her hands, taking the clone's and pulling him up to her face. She leaned forward, giving him a long kiss on the lips, before mouthing 'thank you' with a wink. He grinned profusely and poofed away a second later.

Hinata spun around again with her arms in the air, turning to the man she loved and clasping her hands behind his head. They locked together in a searing kiss, and Naruto's hands grabbed Hinata's bum as she hopped into his arms. He kicked open the door and walked into the adjacent bedroom with her still in his arms, and collapsed with Hinata on the bed a second later. Naruto slid on top of her, never breaking the liplock and blocking everything else out. Nothing else mattered right now.

Naruto broke it first, attacking Hinata's neck with her lips while she clawed at his back, purring. She pushed back though, shifting her body and trying to shove Naruto off and flip him over; she wouldn't lose this one. There existed a game between them in this sense. For the last little while, whenever they were feeling particularly horny and just wanted sex (there was a difference between sex and making love), they competed to try and bring the other off sooner. And more often than not, the dash was for whoever could get to the others nether regions first.

Naruto sucked on her collarbone and her lower neck, and Hinata moaned loudly; her weak spot. Naruto had discovered it after they'd first had sex, and ever since then, he'd used it whenever he wanted his unfair advantage. She hated and loved it at the same time. Hinata hooked her arms underneath his armpits, pulling their bodies together hard and pressing her breasts into his upper chest. Naruto didn't fall for it. He pushed his body onto hers harder, preventing her from flipping him, and continued his work on her neck.

"You…" she whimpered with a throaty giggle. "You're cheating… oh gods… again" she barely got out the last bit after Naruto's right hand had shot downward and clamped over her pussy in one move. She loved it when he did that; just covering it with his hand. The heat built up in the space between and gave her the tingling sense that he was touching her, even though he wasn't. Her body actually excited itself without him doing much at all.

He was getting a lot better at this, she mused.

Naruto's other hand grasped her left tit and held the nipple up to his tongue like a little candy. His mouth kissed and licked it in a similar way, and Hinata shuddered. But he moved fast before she could try to stop him, slipping his head down her body while keeping his hand on her breast to hold her down. His face hovered in front of her pussy, and his hands grabbed onto her thighs a second before his mouth jumped towards her.

Hinata shot upwards with a gasp, now sitting on the edge of the bed, with the only sign of Naruto being a mass of shocking yellow hair buried between her legs. Hinata couldn't gulp down air fast enough; his tongue moved all over her entrance, dipping in every few seconds, twisting, then sliding out quickly. The randomness of the action kept her on edge, and her hand grabbed his hair, pushing her hips into him.

"Oh gods Naruto!" her eyes were closed, while her head stared blindly at the ceiling. "Lick me! Taste my pussy! God… I love what you, oh… I love what you do to me! Come on!" she begged without abandon. Her left hand flopped around for a moment, not knowing what to do until it shot up and grabbed her left tit, pinching and rolling her nipple hard.

Everything flew apart when he reached up with a hand, using his thumb to nudge her clit as his tongue slid inside her. All the feelings and stimulation built up past her limit, and she gulped down air in a soundless gasp as her release took over her. Naruto felt the same; feeling her walls clamp down on his tongue and her sweet, tangy juices coat his lips and mouth with their taste. He took a break for half a second to smack his lips and drink it all down; she tasted so delicious.

Hinata fell back on the bed, blinking while her eyes rolled around in their sockets. He'd been relatively lousy at this at first, but after a few weeks in bed together, Naruto had found exactly which buttons to push to bring her off and make her scream. It was different when they were making love; he took his time, touching her slowly and sensually and making sure that she was begging by the time they both finished. But this time, love wasn't involved; it was only about the end. The release.

Naruto climbed on top of her shaking form, leaning down and touching their lips together. Hinata barely kissed back; she was still shuddering from her release, but she wasn't out. "Come on…" she pleaded, running her fingers up his bare side "I'm not… finished with you yet".

He grinned. "Hina wants more, does she?" he knew that his talk put fire back into her spirit.

Sure enough, Hinata's hands touched the bed, pushing herself into him. "Yes… come on, I want more… I've been so bad and I want you so much… give it to me and fuck me good, Naruto!".

He shut her up with a strong kiss while his body rose from a kneeling position, to one bending over hers that was hanging with her legs off the bed. Hinata jumped when the head touched her opening, and Naruto pushed into her as he deepened his grasp on her lips. Hinata pushed back, only a minor ache encumbering her action before Naruto bottomed out inside of her, and she broke away with a gasp.

The two hovered over each others faces, breathing heavily, before Hinata spoke with a groan of pleasure. "Ohhh… come on Naruto… please fuck me…" she stared at his eyes dead-on, the two unmoving, until he slid himself back, sliding out until only his head was inside her. Then, without hesitation, he slammed back in, and again, and again… Hinata moaned and writhed on the bed, grabbing onto his back and pulling herself up to him; she wanted everything he could give.

The two thrust into one another, with Hinata pushing her body further into Naruto's; she was determined to get every inch of him inside her. Hinata let her right hand fall to grab her breast and knead the nipple, while her left lowered to her pussy and stroked her clit as Naruto pounded into her. Then, in a seamless fashion, Naruto reached down with his own hand and covered Hinata's, using both of their fingers to touch her clit. The intimacy of the action, coupled with the stimulation, was almost too much to bear.

She didn't dare speak for fear of losing her stocked up breath and delaying her next orgasm; it was too good to deny. Naruto, however, did. "Come on Hina… I want to feel you cum all over me, so cum" his tone was low and broken from his struggle to breath heavily while thrusting into her. "Come on Hinata… cum for me and cum on me while I fuck you!".

She gasped and her mouth fell open as Hinata felt her muscles clench all over her body, but especially in her pelvis. Her walls gripped Naruto's cock in a searing, slick vice, but he kept fucking her without stopping. Ordinarily it would be almost painful to overdose on that much pleasure, but her mind had acclimated, and Hinata could only grab her tit and open her legs further.

Naruto held on only a little longer; Hinata's heat and tightness were too much to bear for him longer than a few more minutes. But he kept going as he watched Hinata move from the sloth of afterglow back into her sex kitten-like state again; she was ready to cum again. Naruto grinned inside his head as his hand grabbed her side to increase the strength he thrust into her with. He wouldn't go out and leave her like this.

"Just…" Hinata's speech was split up by breaths and panting. "Keep… going. I want… oh gods… I want you Naruto!" she cried, touching her clit again before using her other hand to grab the back of his neck and yank her head up to crash her lips on his. It was barely a kiss; the pair were too busy trying to suck down oxygen, but the sense of closeness was still there. Hinata felt herself rising again as Naruto felt himself move closer to his end.

Naruto moaned into her mouth; he couldn't keep this up much longer. Stamina was never an issue with him; the Nine-Tails' chakra was able to sustain him for days if need be, and it could radically boost his recovery time, but unfortunately it couldn't slow down his climax. And he had to bring Hinata off before he came. Naruto broke contact with Hinata's lips, jumping down and latching onto her collarbone and neck to hit her special spot. She responded immediately via her legs spasming and almost pushing Naruto out of her, and he kept it up. Almost there…

It was just enough. Naruto's cock thrust into her at just the right angle when she moved, crashing into her g-spot and sending Hinata's exotic eyes flying open while she silently screamed in ecstasy. Her second orgasm hit with less force than the first, but her walls and tunnel clenching around him was more than sufficient to bring him off. Naruto breathed through his teeth as he kept thrusting; his cock spewed out his release inside her, painting her with his juices as hers covered his length.

It was over a few seconds later, after the contractions, for both of them, stopped. In its place, there was a shuddering warmth and unease, like they were lying on a hot, humid ground on a freezing winter's night. Naruto's arms could barely support his weight, leaving him hovering over Hinata and both of them gasping while trying to smile at the other.

She leaned up to peck him on the lips before falling back to the bed. "Tuck me in" she ordered with a childish, bemused pout, and he grinned. He lifted her legs onto the bed and rolled her so that she faced away from him before climbing in behind her and cozying up to her back. Hinata turned so that she faced him, and took his arm, putting it around her. She still had a playful look of sternness on her face that made Naruto chuckle, and he pulled her head to his chest, giving her a kiss on her hair.

"I love you Hinata" Naruto closed his eyes, only to feel her slide up his body and kiss him softly. This one took several seconds, and dripped of both emotion and sensuality; it was a proper kiss.

"I love you too, Naruto" her tone actually reverted to an older one, before Akatsuki, when she could barely speak to him. That shaky, adorable tone that made him want to hug her for hours, instead of the one that she'd adopted; ever-so slightly deeper and projected her newfound strength and confidence. It was an action, maybe not even a conscious one, that made Naruto's heart swell.

He pulled her closer and shut his eyes in the darkness of the room. Sleep came easily.

* * *

Night settled in well that night. That was a discrepancy that was often overlooked; whether or not night came easily or poorly. Rough nights were liked storms flowing over the village; sometimes accompanied by fog or just actual storms, and almost always after cloudy, miserable days. But this one was easy; the stars and moon were out in full luster, and almost everyone liked it that way.

Ino lay on the roof of her home, and the flower shop, admiring the late night. The cool winds rolled over her like she was just another part of the structure, making her hair almost float around on the tiles. She'd long ago acclimated to the cool air; she'd been up here long enough for her body not to feel the effects anymore. Her mother was out with her girlfriends at their bi-monthly sleepover, and her father was out on a mission with two other reconnaissance ninja. But she was waiting up here just in case; if she was caught, this could be really, _really_ bad.

She ran a hand over her bare stomach, feeling for what she knew wasn't there. The seal that the Nine-Tails had traced on her had vanished after she'd left Naruto's mind, but she knew it, and the chakra it contained, still rested inside her. It was an interesting feeling, and not one that she'd expect. Instead of a block or sphere inside her chakra system, it was like the entire tone or pitch of her chakra had changed; it was now a little, and really a little, more fierce, and it swirled faster inside her body. The feeling that resulted was Ino feeling both more energetic, and a little warmer.

Truth be told, everything was still torn up inside her. She knew, but didn't know at the same time. It would be so easy to get rid of this problem; just cast a few simple jutsu into the sky using the Fox's chakra to exhaust it quickly, and eliminate the temptation. But at the same time… the beast had been right when it had spoke to her back in Naruto's head. She was ready, for whatever it - he - could give her. She pondered that for a second; how she'd switched from an it to a he, but tossed it aside. She had bigger things to think about.

Ino pulled herself up to a sitting position, hugging her knees for a moment before standing up fully; it must have been past midnight by now. Which meant that if nobody had come home yet, it was doubtful that they would be. Ino walked to the edge of the roof before stepping off, feeling gravity pull her weight towards the ground, two stories below. Without a second thought, Ino turned as she took the step, so that she faced the ledge of the roof, while also leaning forward just in the slightest. The result was that Ino grabbed the ledge of the roof as she fell, the extra momentum from her tilt swinging her through the second-story window. She landed on her feet, in the center of her room, a second later.

First things first. Ino walked to the door and shut it tight, clicking the lock for good measure. She closed the window, but decided to keep the blinds open to allow the light of the moon to enter and allow her to see. She formed a few hand signs inside of a second next, ending on the snake seal and touching her index finger on the ground. Her chakra swept the room, making sure it was clear of any surveillance seals, following which she placed a seal of her own; one security to warn her if anyone entered the building, and another… a silencing seal. Just for good measure.

She breathed heavily; she was really going to do this. Ino stepped to the center of the room, knowing it was her last chance to think this through. She could use up the chakra right now on a few D and C-rank jutsu and nobody would have to know. She could put a stop to the madness she was about to commit before it could ever happen. But she already knew that she couldn't. Wouldn't, actually; she wanted this too much. All that time alone, sitting in her room weeping and wondering why the boys didn't come after her… she couldn't bear it anymore. Closing her eyes, Ino focused the chakra as her hands rose.

"Shadow clone jutsu…" she whispered as the seal completed.

She felt the red, intense chakra fly from her body as soon as she said the words, calming her own chakra network. Nothing visible happened regarding that, and an instant later, there was a poof of smoke and her shadow clone appeared. She was confused for a moment; nothing was out of the ordinary.

And then the clone clutched its head, breathing hard. Ino could only look in mild horror as her double twisted and shook almost to the point of violence, on the verge of screaming. And then… its skin started to change. The ferocious, red chakra that had left her made an appearance, bubbling up from her clones pale, moonlit skin like it was rising out of a boiling pot. The chakra soon covered the clone in a thick cloak of red, the duplicate Ino still clutching its head and breathing hard. She wasn't sure if her clone was in pain or not, but this was certainly unlike anything she'd ever seen before.

A second later, the chakra receded. The cloak slowly sank back into the clones body, but that wasn't all that was happening. Ino saw her clone grow taller as it turned to face the wall, away from her. It adopted a more relaxed expression, lowering its hands to its sides and standing straight up, as it changed. The clone's arms and legs rippled, losing their slender, lithe shape and instead growing to accommodate the newfound muscle mass. Ino watched… her… back swell up, the shoulder blades and spine becoming more profound as slightly orange hairs covered the now-strong arms and legs. And finally, the clone lost Ino's platinum, striking hair, the original long waterfall of blonde shrinking back, to mass up as a new, furious windswept style, coloured that same, rageful red.

Ino looked at the new being, which stood easily a foot taller than her, as it turned around. It was him, alright.

"**This is… unsettling**" the Nine-Tails spoke in the same voice it had during their first meeting, only with less of a surrounding, booming bass that had been produced by them being in a mindscape. It raised its hands, looking at their palms and backs, clenching them experimentally. "**It has been… a very, long time… since I last walked with your kind, fleshling**".

Ino didn't need to ask how long ago that was. "**The feel of a human form… I've not felt this for over twenty years**" he looked around with those fiery irises, scanning the room. He turned to her after a moment, staring down at her. "**You seem nervous, kitten**".

She took a step back, against her better judgement. "Gee, I can't imagine why" Ino spoke with snark. "I'm inviting the monster who slaughtered hundreds into my bedroom. I'm just wondering if I'll be in the psych wing of the hospital by tomorrow morning".

The Fox chuckled, showing its still-pointed teeth. "**Women are attracted to those with power**" Ino almost rolled her eyes; the beast was a psychoanalyst now. "**Why did you summon me, little one?**".

"You already know the answer to that" she replied; her back was now against the wall, with his towering frame in front of her. One of its hands planted itself on the wall behind her, and it leaned down close to her face. She tried, unsuccessfully, to look away.

"**Indulge me**".

"I'm not going to satisfy your petty domination complex" Ino protested, finally finding her spine. It was easier now that they were in the real world. "You're here because I want you to be, not because I'm your slave".

"**Remind me to work on that**" the Fox snarled with a hint of a smile. "**Having a pet that stands up for itself is no fun**".

"I'm not-"

"**Then why did you summon me?**" he was pressing his advantage. Ino tried to stop him, but she couldn't; he was moving too fast and his voice carried far too much weight.

"**You know **_**exactly**_** why you did**" he hissed. His hands were moving; she couldn't tell where. His eyes, striking her teal ones as fast and as hard as a spear, were hypnotic in their rage and majesty. "**You're just telling yourself that you don't because you want to justify yourself. You don't want to decide between your lust and your self-respect**".

He was so right. She didn't say it, though. At that moment, he leaned in closer, now only a millimeter from her face, and whispered. She felt his hand touch her skirt then, making her mouth slide open, just a bit. "**And guess which is more fun?**".

Fuck it.

Ino's hands grabbed his face, pulling hers forward and crashing her lips on his. He didn't act surprised at all, instead dropping his brace on the wall and grabbing her waist to pull her closer. There was no hesitation, no doubt; both knew exactly what they were after, and they were taking it.

The Nine-Tails lifted her up, so that her waist was higher than his own, slamming her into the wall and keeping her pinned as they kissed. Ino responded, wrapping her legs around his back. His strength was incredible; holding her up, and keeping her there, took up almost no effort. Even Ino could see through her half-opened eyes that he wasn't straining at all, and she felt a spike of heat shoot up her spine. Her whole body responded, loosening up and making her muscles relaxed.

The Fox used this new advantage to move. He took the upper hand, sliding his tongue into her mouth and keeping hers back, while pushing his body against hers further. Underneath Ino's butt, he channeled his chakra to that singular area, and the sound of swirling, sloshing water touched her ears again. If she'd been able to through their searing kiss, she'd have smiled. Any other play wasn't necessary; she'd felt herself get damp when he'd first appeared in the shadow clones body, and she wanted him. NOW.

He didn't listen. Using one of the hands holding her up, the Nine-Tails slid it in between their bodies, cupping her clothed slit. She instantly reacted with a gasp into his mouth; this wasn't normal. It was like in his presence, she felt hotter and looser. Not just emotionally either, but physically, she felt warmer. Was he channeling his chakra into her or something? She didn't know, but it felt _amazing_. Every feeling, every signal sent to her brain, was magnified threefold. She'd never felt so turned on, so sexy, so desired, in her life.

Without a word, his nailed fingers ripped off her panties. Her sex didn't need any more stimulation; she could feel her juices running down her thighs she was so wet. The temptation was strong to just shout out for him to fuck her, but even as the words touched her throat, his fingers, two at once, slid into her and made the sound die in her throat. What came out instead was a throaty moan and resulted in Ino grabbing his neck harder.

"**Take it, pet**" he said simply, in a guttural, primal voice that would be right at home in the Pit itself. She moaned loudly, trying to reach down to touch her clit, only to receive him pinning that hand against the wall with a shoulder.

"**No, whore. I say when you cum.**" he snarled darkly, but it sounded more like he was preventing a child from opening a christmas present early.

Ino only panted and pushed into him more. The name-calling only made her hotter. His nails weren't bothering her as she thoughts they would have; she didn't feel them at all. But his fingers… ohhh, they were hitting her in every way she needed. Not touching her g-spot, but purposefully grazing over it while touching her insides in a way that made her lose her mind in the thrill.

"**Beg**" he growled simply. This was more than a game to him; Ino could see that much.

She held back purposefully, knowing the danger in her action. She still held some of her reason, and, if she could push him without making him snap and hurt her… she could only imagine what he'd do to her. Or make her do to him. Ino shuddered, but hid the action under shaking her head to his statement. The action got her throat grabbed tightly by the Nine-Tails. Not enough to cut off her breathing, but enough to make her listen.

"**That wasn't a request. Beg, slut**" his teeth were bared now, ones that gleamed white and made shark teeth look like human ones. She could go a little further, Ino gambled. She hissed reluctantly and still managed to move her head back and forth.

He didn't respond with words this time, only actions. Without pause, the Nine-Tails hand supporting her bum left her and slipped up to her front. But instead of falling, Ino looked down to see two arms of the Fox's fierce red chakra suspending her. There was almost no difference in their feeling. Those thoughts about the arms vanished a second later when the beast's thumb touched her clit, making her shriek out of fright and ecstasy. This was more than when she touched herself; he was doing something to her to make her mind _only_ focus on her orgasm.

The double assault of him thrusting his digits into her cunt and rubbing her clit made Ino almost lose it entirely. She couldn't stall this anymore. "Fuck me!" she spat at him. Her voice, made of half lust and half hate, nearly broke in half from its tone. "Just do it! I can't wait anymore! PLEASE!".

He said nothing, only kept thrusting and twitching his fingers inside her while playing with her swollen clit. It was driving her insane; it wasn't enough. She needed something bigger, and he was torturing her by not giving it to her. Ino would have knocked him down and jumped on him had it not been for his strength, preventing her from almost any movement aside from her fingers and toes.

"**Say you're mine**" he growled. She didn't care anymore.

"Oh gods!" she shouted out, the knowledge that the privacy seal she'd placed was absolute comforting her. "I'm yours!".

"**You're my what?**".

"I'm…"

The Nine-Tails snarled and removed his fingers from her cunt, moving away his hand at the same time. In its place, Ino saw with a sigh of relief, he pushed his cock forward, rubbing the head over her moist lips. "**Say it, pet.** **Say it now**" he didn't need to make threats; the idea of her not being satisfied tonight was real enough.

Ino let loose, looking at him straight in the eyes as she spoke. "I'm your pet! I'm your whore, your slut!" she felt hot tears running down her cheeks; she couldn't tell whether they were anger, humiliation, relief or all three. "Please! I need to be fucked! Fuck your whore now!".

That snarl disappeared, instead becoming neutral with the Fox's mouth upturned in a small smile dripping with smug satisfaction. That was the last thing Ino saw before her eyes closed in pleasure and pain when he thrust inside her sex in one go. He was so big; enough that she knew she'd be sore tomorrow morning, and enough that she didn't care. A toy was one thing, but a flesh-and-blood cock… the satisfaction wasn't comparable.

There was no more speaking after that. Only each other moving in sync. He pushed into her, and she pushed back around him. The two rocked back and forth against the wall, red, fiery orbs locked onto flashing teal ones possessively. Ino's moans and the Nine-Tails' grunts even fell into a pattern soon, replacing their words to one another as the only vocal symbol of what they were doing. To add to that, the words that she'd spoken kept ringing in her head like rocks; that'd she'd given into him fully. The time that they'd known each other, and that it was one of the most one-sided relationships she'd ever heard of, didn't even come into her mind. The only thing that did was the heat, and the fire, they were making.

The Nine-Tails was possessive; not allowing her to even touch herself. He did it for her, using the chakra arms to support her while he grabbed and twisted her nipples or rubbed her clit. But the most amazing thing was how he knew; his mind was plugged into hers on a level that was near telepathic. Every little action he took, a change in pace or a tweak of her breasts, was precise, and almost better than if she'd done it herself. He knew what she wanted, and he gave it to her, even not letting her do it herself. It was the very definition of pleasure, rolled into a single form.

The fire built, and Ino felt herself release, her moans breaking to allow for her gasping for air and panting with exhaustion. On the other hand, he didn't stop. The Nine-Tails kept thrusting into her, changing up the pace and pattern consistently in a manner that kept her on her toes. His growling and grunting only grew louder while his cock slid in and out of her, and despite that she'd just cum, she felt the chakra arms holding her up warm for just a second, but it was enough to feel the heat flow into her. He was channeling chakra into her, but in a way that built up her arousal, and the fire inside her body.

It was almost endless. She came again some time later; it could have been just three minutes, or maybe fifteen. She didn't care. He still didn't let up, instead moving his head closer to hers each time, those red eyes still boring into hers, even making her feel weak before them. He was close now; both in his release and his proximity. He was only a few centimeters away from her face, so close she could feel his breath tickle her lips. She wanted to lean forward and kiss him, but his arm prevented it.

He sensed it in her movements, and shot forward like a snake, grabbing her lips just as the both of them let go. The Fox exploded inside her while Ino covered him, their juices mingling together in a violent blend that warmed them both. The two didn't separate, instead he stayed inside her, their lips still together, while Ino rested against the wall. The passion of their kiss slowed down as his thrusts did, his cock still filling her up despite his release. The intimacy of the moment was so erotic, yet tranquil; unlike anything she'd felt before.

Without a word, he picked her up off the wall, walking to her bed and laying her down beside him. Their lips didn't break contact once, and it wasn't until a few minutes later that he finally pulled away.

"Please don't leave" she whispered. The moonlight shined through the window, but away from the bed, casting a shadow that made his predator-kin face look like a spectre.

"**I won't**" he said back. His voice hadn't softened much, but the intonation was enough to be audible. Ino's heart fluttered. "**Not yet**".

The two lay together, with him still inside her, for a long time after.


	6. Orders

**A/N**: I'm afraid I'm hitting the wall while trying to keep up at school, so updates are going to be slower than usual. I haven't forgotten this, however, and I work on it whenever I find the time. This update is much shorter than the last mostly because I wanted to get this note out to you guys, and not leave the last chapter on the implication that this was a simple sex story; it's not. Anyway, enjoy, and a review is always appreciated.

**Chapter Six  
**_Orders_

The mountains of the Land of Lightning were legendary. Earth had its valleys, Wind had deserts, Fire had forests and the Water had… well, oceans. Every nation had something that made it unique, but it was only the Land of Lightning whose landmarks really stood out; it was the one that made children's eyes go wide when they saw the colossal valleys filled with mist and the towering piles of rock and stone that lorded over them.

But their beauty was hardly their most useful feature, as was the knowledge of any good shinobi. The mountains presented a massive height and distance advantage over the valleys that they watched over, in addition to most of the main roads, which ran through them and were exempt from cover. The utility could range from broad, easy surveillance to providing excellent sniping posts. Fighting on mountain slopes was difficult for those not used to the terrain, and the mists and clouds that rolled through the valleys were useful to those lurking above.

Cai utilized every single one of these advantages as he tailed the tiny dot walking on the road far below. He kneeled on a rock ledge, over 600 meters above and behind the target, and whom he stared at through the mask on his face; customized to provide telescopic and enhanced vision for _exactly_ these situations. Assassinations were his speciality, and assassinations within the Land of Lightning just made his job easier.

The sound of disturbed rock; seventeen pebbles, to be exact, made him turn to his right, enough to see a tall, dark-skinned woman kneeling beside him. Her entire body, save for a few sections of skin on her arms and legs, was covered by white-grey armor. Only her eyes, a soothing chocolate, were visible through her mask, as was the dress of the Hidden Cloud ANBU. Cai glanced at her for a moment before turning back to the man below.

"News?" Cai was quiet, brief and to the point. You could never fully know the abilities of enemy ninja; it was best to always act as if you were playing into their hands.

"None" her voice was hushed as well. "He's definitely alone. No outgoing coms or chakra disruptions".

Cai nodded once, adjusting the implants over his eyes. "Sir; the Raikage's briefing…"

She didn't need to finish. "I know. Something's off here. Any word from the Cloud?".

She shook her head, just once. "No sir. We have to make our decision now".

Cai thought for a solid ten seconds before he answered; a long time for a man like him. The question wasn't one that could be taken lightly. On one hand, tailing him could provide valuable evidence on the Akatsuki. On the other, it could let him meet up with his partner or enter an area where taking him out would be difficult or impossible. One of the oldest problems in the book; intelligence versus target.

Another problem: why was he alone? Akatsuki travelled in pairs, or so the Hidden Leaf and Sand had said. The fact that he was by himself only made this situation harder. But they wouldn't get another shot at this…

Ten seconds were up. "We move. Tell Daiki to paint him well. I'll take the shot".

She nodded, tilting her head for a moment and raising a finger to her ear, relaying his order. Cai got down on his stomach, the woman beside him mimicking his action a moment later. His cybernetically-enhanced eye scopes homed in on the man on the road; they missed no detail. Height: 177.1 centimeters. Walking speed: 5.72 km/h. Wind speed: 14.48 km/h. Wind direction: south-southwest. Distance to target: 630.3 meters. Good conditions; the wind was in his favour and wasn't blowing off his course. This would be easy.

Cai reached behind him, plucking the bow from the sling on his back and unfolding it smoothly. He'd made it from oak in the higher mountains north of the Cloud; some of the most reliable, hardy wood in the shinobi world. The arrows that he pulled alongside it were made from, on the other hand, ash from the Land of Fire. Lightweight, but their piercing ability combined with the steel arrowheads, was brutal. He wasn't aiming to wound.

He laid the bow lengthwise on the rock ledge of the cliff before nocking the arrow. The scopes zoomed in to the point where they could see the colour of his hair; a greyish white that was slicked back. He held the arrow steady, until a few seconds later, when a tiny, almost insignificantly small red speck appeared on the back of the man's head. Good; Daiki had done his job.

Focusing as he lay there, the arrow began to hum and buzz as Cai let his lightning-style chakra flow into him. It was the best chakra nature for archery; increasing the piercing power of the arrow while increasing its speed to the point where almost any other natural factor (wind direction, speed, etc.) was unnecessary. Cai felt his eye scopes track the dot, and his arm adjusted just a tad to the right to compensate. That was the lock. He let out a long breath, closing his eyes (less of a chance to second-guess your aim), before his fingers let the bowstring go.

He knew it was a perfect shot before it even impaled the back of the target's head. His chakra, channeled into the arrow, gave it the speed and accuracy of a lightning bolt, not to mention the half-dozen other factors all pointing in Cai's favour. He watched the scene through his telescopic vision with no small amount of pride. The arrow sliced right through the man's skull, hitting the parietal and temporal lobe sections of his brain, before coming out underneath his chin to bury itself in the dirt in front of him. He was dead before he even hit the ground. Cai permitted himself a brief smile; this would look good on his report.

And then the body poofed into nothing.

"CLONE!" Cai shouted into his radio, just before a flash of dark crimson leaped up from below the cliff he rested on.

"How rude!" the man who they'd supposedly just killed roared as he floated in the air, mid-jump. "Getting the party started without the guest of honor!". The man reached behind his cloak, emblazoned with black and red clouds, and removed a massive, blood red scythe, possessing three blades of varying length.

With a hearty laugh dripping with malice, he _threw_ the massive weapon at Cai and his companion. Cai lept into the air off of all fours, avoiding the blades just in time, with the woman next to him managing the same. He was so focused on the weapon, however, that he failed to notice the man shooting towards him with a flying side kick. With no time or ability to dodge midair, Cai was struck full-force, crashing into the mountain slope and landing farther back on the ridge, this time close to the edge.

"You Cloud ninja are supposed to be tough!" he was cocky, Cai thought. That was a weakness. Progress.

The Akatsuki landed on the ledge, and Cai looked up. Lyna was already in motion midair, weaving hand signs with the speed of two Jonin. She ended on the dragon seal, before withdrawing both her arms behind her left side.

"Lightning style!" she shouted out, before thrusting both her hands forward as a solid beam of pure, white-blue energy shot from them. "Thunder Torrent jutsu!"

The white-haired man only laughed, lowering his scythe so that it was directly in front of him, facing down, while bracing his hands on the back. The beam of energy struck the weapon, pushing the Akatsuki's feet into the earth of the cliff, but to Cai and Lyna's shock, nothing happened. The lightning broke off from the beam when it struck the blades, dissipating into the air and surrounding them with light. He grunted something that couldn't be heard over the sound of crackling electricity, before pushing his arms forward.

The two were locked in a tug-of-war of a shinobi kind. Lyna pushed more chakra into the lightning jutsu with a snarl, to which the Akatsuki growled back, and pushed against the stream even more intensely. She was on the losing end of this; Lyna knew that. Unlike his strength, which was unknown, Lyna couldn't keep this up for very long. It was an energy-intensive technique and wasn't meant to be maintained for long; while this guy's scythe must have been made of chakra-repellant steel or… she couldn't think about it now. Where the hell was Cai?

An arrow from her left answered her question a second later. The fourteen inch shaft buried itself in his shoulder, making him roar in pain and lift up his head. Lyra smiled as she pushed forward, increasing the power of her jutsu. He staggered back, but that wasn't the best part. That arrow made things a lot easier on their team, as their enemy made the predictable move of turning his head to shout at Cai to his left.

"You have no-" the Akatsuki started, before his eyes went wide and his mouth slacked. He sank to his knees as Lyna lowered her hands, the beam vanishing as she shut off her chakra flow. She breathed heavy as two small holes appeared on his forehead, which began leaking blood a moment later. A perfect lineup. He fell forward, landing on his face and the giant scythe clanging to the rock cliff as well.

Cai had stood up, his bow dangling from his hand as he held onto his stomach. That hit had taken him off-guard, it seemed. He walked up to Lyna, sucking air through his teeth. Just as he stopped moving, two shrouds of smoke appeared on both sides of the dead man's body, each of them wearing the same ANBU masks. The one on the left leaned down, placing two fingers on their target's neck. After a moment, he stood back up.

"He's gone" Cai didn't need to see his face to know that his teammate was smiling. Another cocky one; that was a bad habit to get into.

"Wait until the Hidden Leaf hears we took out one of the Akatsuki in just a couple shots" the other masked ANBU, a young woman this time, said excitedly.

"Good work everyone" Cai sheathed his bow and stood up straight, ignoring the dull throb of his stomach strike. "Daiki: radio the Cloud and report our progress. Lyna: scan the area for any missed threats. Sami: seal up the corpse and-"

"Corpse? That's hurtful, you know!".

All of them immediately whipped around to face the, twenty seconds ago, what would have been called a body. The man got to his feet slowly, leaning on his tri-bladed weapon before turning to look at the four ANBU. His face was twisted into a sick grin, with the two holes in his head from the lightning-charged senbon still leaking crimson blood, while the wound in his shoulder, and the arrow that caused it, still visibly throbbed.

This was impossible. Daiki and Sami _never_ missed. And they hadn't. But he had survived, somehow. Was he immo-

Cai had his answer a second later when the white-haired man groaned as his brow furrowed in pain. Without missing a beat, he reached to his side, grabbing the shaft of the arrow and yanking it, arrowhead and all, from his shoulder. The only sound he made was a mild grunt and a twitch of the lip. Behind his mask and eye scopes, Kai was horrified.

"Not your lucky day, is it?" The Akatsuki looked like he was just about to burst out laughing as the arrowhead clacked on the stone ground. "Now DIE!".

He lunged forward towards Cai, scythe swinging wildly. He got his bow out and up in time to block, managing to slip the wood in between the blades and parry it as the huge, crimson steel hovered just above his head. A reaper, waiting to drop his sickle and send him into the next life.

That blow never came. The man withdrew his weapon and in one quick strike, made a single, horizontal slash across Cai's midsection. His eyes widened from the pain and he staggered back, turning that fumble into a backwards roll that saved him from death as the Akatsuki's weapon buried itself four centimeters into the stone ground where he'd just been standing. Hand clutching his stomach, Cai couldn't help but marvel at the enemy's speed with that weapon.

"I've got you now…" he hissed, leaping into the air as another lightning-style attack from Lyna nearly struck him head-on. He landed a moment later in between all four of them, while Daiki and Sami aimed their weapons straight at his neck. If they just had a few more seconds...

Another flash of black and red interrupted those thoughts. Cai looked up to see what he'd been dreading most; another figure, dressed in the same cloak as the first, had appeared midair, leaping up from below. He hadn't seen anyone down there with the clone, which could only mean that the two of them had known Cai's team were coming long beforehand. They'd been played.

That was Cai's last dismal thought before the voice of their second opponent shredded the scene. "WIND STYLE: PRESSURE DAMAGE" came the shout, as the man exhaled a gale-force wind from his mouth. But that wasn't what caught Cai's focus, rather than the half-dozen black projectiles with… tails… within the small tornado.

Kunai. With paper bombs attached.

And when wind-style attacks were supplemented by fire…

Cai closed his eyes, a millisecond before the entire cliffside was lit up by an inferno.

* * *

The second Akatsuki landed on the burning remnants of the cliff a few moments after he'd used his wind-fire attack. The entire landscape was a scorched, charred shadow of what it had been a few moments earlier, with small fires dotting the stone that would burn for the next few minutes before sputtering out. The rainfalls would wash away the trace evidence in less than a week, but the chars and burn marks on the stones would be there forever from the intensity of the blaze. The smell of burning flesh touched his concealed nostrils from the five bodies that had been nearly burnt to ash, and he wrinkled his nose at the acrid, almost nauseating, stench.

He was pleased with himself, actually.

Using his fire and wind styles simultaneously without use of his masks was difficult, and chakra-intensive. He'd made up his mind to see if paper bombs, combined with a wind-style attack, would have a similar result. The outcome was even better than he expected: a decrease in range without a decrease in intensity. The firestorm had fit this mountain perfectly, and taken out all four of his opponents in one burst. In addition, it had the pleasant side effect of-

"Kakuzu!" came the angered shout from one of the burned corpses on the ground.

That.

The body raised its arms, plucking its weapon from the ground, only to drop it a moment later with a shout of pain when the heat of the metal burned his hand. The masked Akatsuki permitted himself a brief smile underneath the grey veil that covered his mouth and nose as his partner pulled his scarred, burned form to its feet. He whipped around a second later with an angry snarl.

"You ass! That wasn't the plan!" Hidan was clearly attempting to roar, but apparently the fire had damaged his vocal chords, and his shout came out an octave higher. If he knew how, he may have laughed.

"Your plan was flawed in two ways" Kakuzu turned back onto his default, angered stare. "ANBU work as a team. Your strategy of taking one down at a time would have been ineffective: only an area attack would be successful".

He looked around at the bodies, focusing on one that held what would have been a bow in a blackened, burned hand. "That one" he indicated with a nod of his head "That arrow was not meant to injure you. It was meant to make you turn your head toward the source, and line up the two snipers for a senbon shot. Perfect accuracy, and flawless teamwork".

"And what was the second way?" Hidan asked before he looked around to see the charred corpses of the former ANBU. "Goddamn it Kakuzu! Didn't you consider my ritual? I can't offer these husks to Jashin!".

The second Akatsuki radiated smugness as he walked past Hidan to look off the edge of the cliff, ignoring him. "I did consider it".

Hidan let out an exasperated breath of fury. "And?!".

Kakuzu turned his head slightly. "That was the second way".

Hidan really debated slicing his partner's head like a piece of fruit, but settled for a growl as he picked up the bloodied scythe. He gripped it through the pain of the hot metal as he touched the tip of the longest blade; he'd had that ANBU's blood… and Kakuzu had to ruin everything. That arrogant, smug heretic… some days, he'd sworn Leader had placed them together just so he could watch the fireworks in private.

Hidan waved the weapon around to cool it off as Kakuzu looked over the valley. "We don't have time for your rituals anyway" Kakuzu reverted back to his cold self faster than the flip of a switch. "We have our mission, and we need to get moving. Even this was a distraction".

"You'd rather have avoided them?".

"I told you that. Twice".

Hidan grinned stupidly. "This way is more fun" he asked, before a pout came onto his face. "Oh wait, it was more fun until you fucked it all up!".

In an instant, a wave of killer intent came over Hidan's masked partner; Kakuzu didn't even need to turn for him to feel the chill. He was pushing his luck. "Alright, fine" Hidan said with another sigh. "But I'm going to be scraping burned skin off myself for days".

"You'll live" Kakuzu grunted in annoyance, before leaping off the rock into the misty valley air. Hidan followed an instant later, the fiery graveyard they left behind already forgotten.

* * *

Shino sat on the branches of the tree with his usual, analytic cold stare. The goggles that masked his eyes were not a hindrance so much as they were a help; the reduced glare from staring into sun-enveloped horizon provided him with a greater field of vision, so much so that he could see individual branches moving a kilometer away. As Shino figured, if there were enemies after them, he'd much rather kill them first.

He dropped down a second later when the smell of ash touched his nose. He landed away from the tree, standing in a small clearing of trees with a campfire in the center. Beside the firepit, a massive, white-furred hound lay, its head laying on the earth as it absorbed the heat of the flames, while its master sat beside it, twiddling his thumbs.

He looked up expectingly. Shino's goggled flashed at him in the light of the sunset. "She's back".

Kiba jumped to his feet, stretching his arms and yawning wide. "Finally!".

Just as he'd said, Hinata, dressed in her standard bagged sweater and pants, entered the clearing. Shino's sharp eyes picked out her body language instantly; she was out of breath, bent over slightly at the base of her spine, and her chakra was pulsating slightly. She'd been using her Byakugan.

"What did you find?" he asked in his monotone.

"Nothing" Hinata stood up straighter, stretching her neck. "No traps or triggers that I could see, and I didn't pick up any living chakra signs in the base. It's definitely deserted".

"That's concerning" Shino echoed the thought that was running through all their heads.

"Orochimaru was cocky, and he could theoretically live forever with that jutsu of his" Kiba was frowning, now sitting on Akamaru while rubbing the hounds ears. "Maybe he honestly didn't consider that he would die".

To his surprise, Hinata nodded. "Kiba may be right. From what I've heard about him, he certainly seems like that kind of man. What if he honestly left his hideouts undefended, or his followers fled when they heard he died?".

"That's a chance we can't take" Shino's brow furrowed behind his goggles; this wasn't normal for her. She was always the cautious one. "It's better to be slow than dead".

She nodded in response. "I know. I just wanted to consider all options".

"That's not what you would have said two months ago" Shino spoke with no reservations, as a man who clearly wasn't concerned with his etiquette.

Hinata was now fully focused on him, turning her head and the beginnings of a frown appearing on her face. "What are you implying, Shino?".

He meant to speak, but the appearance of Kiba between the two stopped him. "Guys. That's enough" Shino wasn't even surprised by Kiba playing the peacemaker he was so immersed in thought. "We've got to move at dawn. Better get some sleep while we can".

"I'll take first watch" Hinata stated. Shino wasn't one to argue, but his eyes traced her even as she leaped into the trees. Something had changed with her, and there was little doubt as to what it was.

Kiba turned in a few minutes later after dousing the fire, climbing into his bedroll, while Shino did the same. He waited for ten minutes after he heard Kiba`s light snores before sliding out and jumping up after his teammate.

She was perched in the same place he had been, staring off into the nearly-gone sunset and watching night settle in. Shino took the high ground by sitting on the very crown of the tree behind hers; the height and reach advantages would work in his favour if things were to go south. Many would say that was distrusting, but it was what his clan taught; trust your comrades until you know they can't trust themselves.

"Yes, I was implying something" he spoke first, making Hinata's head turn. Her face was a blend of sadness and anger.

"And what was that?" her voice wasn't even passive aggressive; she just sounded mad at herself now.

"You've always been the careful one, Hinata" he spoke coolly. There was no need or desire to step on toes within him, but this was concerning the mission. "That you would even consider the reckless idea that Orochimaru _might_ have left his base undefended and to disregard caution suggests that you either have a personal vendetta against him or that you want to get back to the Leaf as soon as possible".

Shino inclined his head, making his goggles shine in the vanishing light. "And you're not one to carry grudges. What's bothering you?".

She sighed under her breath. He was right, as usual; sometimes she thought he could see people's souls behind those glasses. "It's nothing, Shino. I won't let it interfere with the mission".

"You'll forgive me if I doubt that" confident that the danger was over, Shino descended to sit on a branch opposite her. "You know you can talk to me if you need to, Hinata".

It was truly something else hearing Shino attempt to be kind, even in that ever-present icy voice. Like hearing the Nine-Tails give a compliment, she imagined. "Naruto and I …" she couldn't finish, and Shino didn't need details "He just needs me right now".

"Naruto is a survivor, above all else. He's done fine without-"

"That's not how it works, Shino!" Hinata barked, her eyes snapping to his and showing her anger; a surprising amount given the fact that they lacked pupils. She settled down a second later. "I can't just… I know I have to, but…". She knew she looked more like a child for every second she delayed, and she hated it. But the words wouldn't come.

"I see what you're going through" Shino wasn't lying. He would have said he understood it, but that implied experience. He had none in this field. Nor did he care enough to get it.

"And?" there was a little too much venom in her voice for her liking.

"He'll be okay, Hinata" came his voice. The surprise was momentary; Shino was _never_ comforting. Motivating, occasionally. Inspiring, rarely. But never comforting. It just wasn't his thing to offer false promises and statements. Which gave her an inkling here.

It was even more shocking when a hand touched her shoulder. She almost spun to see her teammate sitting arms length away on the branch beside her. She hadn't even seen him move. Was this the same Shino?

"...thank you" her mousy voice slipped out, and her mouth tweaked upward at his gesture.

He stood up on the branch the second the words left her mouth, turning away from her. "I'll take over your shift in three hours, forty minutes" he said before hopping off the branch and disappearing.

Maybe he did have a human side, she thought, before going back to watching the horizon vanish.


End file.
